Council of the Great City Schools - Call For Change

This week at the Fall Conference of the Council of the Great City Schools, leaders are meeting to discuss how to improve the academic and social outcomes of boys and young men of color. This Council of Great City Schools call-to-action was made at a White House event featuring President Obama. School districts across the country, including Fort Worth ISD, attended a conference titled "United to Make a Difference" where leaders are learning effective strategies to end the the achievement gap and address the issues that urban districts face affecting males of color.

In 2010, the Council of the Great City Schools published a report indicating that young black males in America are in a state of crisis. The report, A Call For Change: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban Schools, led to Council testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families and prompted the organization to release a comparison analysis of Hispanic students titled, Today's Promise, Tomorrow's Future: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Hispanics in Urban Schools.

The Call For Change study called for a White House initiative noting that the education, social, and employment outcomes of African American males are equivalent to a "national catastrophe" requiring coordinated national attention. Since the release of the reports, the Council established internal and external advisory committees to guide the urban school coalition on its work with males of color.

Here are links to the documents and webpages:

A Call For Change: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban School

Today's Promise, Tomorrow's Future: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Hispanics in Urban Schools

"United to Make a Difference" preconference at the Council of the Great City Schools

Fort Worth ISD's Pledge 

Council of the Great City Schools' "My Brother's Keeper" Initiative