USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: MCPS - Response from MsJoe

Hello Mr. Hawkins:

 

Sorry, your mail was saved and I did not see it until the issue came up and I went through my mails. It is very interesting that the Maryland Schools System now has a mixed race as a demographic group.  Based on the Maryland Schools Assessment Test, this group is a top performer on par with Asians and Whites.

 

By law, if 40 students or 10% of the student population is  from an ethnic origin, the data can be dis-aggregated. That is what I stressed to the Deputy Superintendent Minority Achievement Committee, what you saw online.

 

If orientations affect learning, which is the basis of the No Child Left Behind Law to ensure students in the different demographic groups are making Adequate Yearly Progress, lumping black kids together based on color and not  contextual orientation/reality defeats both the spirit and intent of the law.

 

Nobody can officially tell how students from African immigrant community are performing. On a second note, it is illogical to have students from this same group in English as Second Language classes (transfers from non-English African countries) and yet classify them as indistinguishably African Americans - while acculturating them to adapt.

 

The resistance to disaggregate the data is born of politics; not practical sense. But I will bring up the issue with Councilwoman Valerie Ervin who chairs the Education Committee. We need a hearing.

 

I must admit that fighting for substantial difference is new to my community. Unlike the Hispanic Asian groups, we do not have research and policy institutions. I just do it on my own. The fact that I was able to  research, advocate, and present the documentation  for the recognition of the African Community as distinguishable from the African Americans and Caribbean in Montgomery County is a solid basis for subsequent policies. There was also massive resistance and Africans were already planning under Tina Clark, the then African American liaison and had produced a document that lumped all three groups together.

 

I simply disagreed, disregarded and disengaged from the process. But simply saying No does not cut it. I produced an alternative and the rest is history.  The question is: how has this been capitalized for the difference? That is a question for the community on this and related issue.

 

Thanks,

MsJoe

 

 

In a message dated 9/6/2011 1:44:27 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, HAWKINJ@WESTAT.com writes:

Ms. Joe,

 

I'm wondering if you ever made progress with MCPS and efforts to report achievement outcome data by the 3 African American groups.  I'm curious because when I worked for MCPS—and this goes way back to the 90's—I asked MCPS to do something like similar and everyone thought I was crazy.

 

I never realized until today that someone else has asked for these data.  I came across your emails online today to the Deputy Superintendent Minority Achievement Committee.

 

Joseph Hawkins

Senior Study Director

Westat

1650 Research Blvd.

Rockville, Maryland 20850