Jackson State University News March 10, 2014 JSU program to increase number of black, male teachers in elementary schools By Shelia Byrd The following article was the cover story of the Winter 2013 edition of The Jacksonian. Cortland Moten wasn't a bad kid; he just needed a little direction. Raised in a single-parent home, Moten rarely saw his father. Most of his male role models were uncles, cousins, his grandfather and the guys he knew from his tight-knit neighborhood. Moten admits he wasn't always respectful at school. He'd crack jokes in class or horseplay with athletes. That all changed when he met Coach Lintrail Dukes at Forest Hill High School in Jackson, Miss. Dukes demanded respect, and it was a demand that stuck with the impressionable young Moten. "I never had that before," Moten says. "He was the closest thing I'd ever had in regard to a male figure I could go to for advice. I could talk to him about school - history and English. He knew all kinds of music. I changed my behavior and became more disciplined, mostly from my exposure to him." With firsthand knowledge of how a black, male teacher could make a difference in a youth's life, Moten decided to become an educator. And, thanks to Jackson State University, he'll get the financial, academic and mentoring support he needs to reach his goal. Moten, 19, is part of the first cohort of the JSU Call Me Mister program, designed to provide academic and financial support to males who want to become public elementary school teachers in Mississippi. The need is great - both in Mississippi and nationwide. Less than 2 percent of public school teachers in the U.S. are black males. In Mississippi, around 2.4 percent of its public elementary school teachers are black men. In a few years, at least five more are expected to join their ranks - Moten, Alexander Gatewood, Malcolm Baldwin, Ansel Heidelberg and Edward Williams. The young men receive free tuition and loan forgiveness assistance. They'll also receive book awards, leadership training, professional development, study abroad opportunities and placement in an elementary school in Mississippi. They're charged with the mission to "plant seeds of dignity and respect in children and inspire them to cultivate those seeds, producing a crop of unprecedented success." Dr. Daniel Watkins, dean of the College of Education and Human Development, finds the dearth of black, male educators troubling. Last academic year, there were 33 elementary education graduates at JSU. Of them, four were men. Watkins is a lifelong educator who worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and school superintendent in K-12 schools before entering higher education. He remembers when school teachers were revered in their communities. If children saw one of their teachers at a grocery store, they knew they had to be on their best behavior even if they weren't in school, he said. "Some of that has been lost. We'd like to recapture that," said Watkins. He believes the Call Me Mister Program can pave the way, especially since the selection process is based, in part, on a candidate's character. Williams gets it. The 19-year-old, with a starched posture and deep voice, already exhibits a commanding presence so vital in today's classroom. Williams says he's always liked working with children and is aware of the profound influence a teacher can have on students. "They're very vulnerable and very open to new things," Williams says of students. "Whenever I heard about a teacher involved in a nasty rumor or scandal, I lost respect for them. I want to show my students that I'm a genuinely good person. I want to show myself as an example both in and out the classroom." It is imperative youth are exposed to positive black, male role models because they're inundated with images of negative stereotypes through social and traditional media, Watkins says. And few would dispute that the breakdown of the black family unit - primarily the absence of fathers in the home - is a factor in many of the social ills impacting black children. In this country, 67 percent of African-American children live in single-parent families, according to Kids Count data collected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In Mississippi, the figure is 74 percent. Boys growing up in fatherless homes need a male mentor for guidance, and that's a role a teacher a can fill, says Watkins, whose mother raised him and his siblings as a single parent. "This program means a lot to young African-American boys in challenged areas," Watkins says. "In many cases, some might not see a male teacher until middle school or high school." Another classroom benefit of male teachers is discipline, said Dr. Tony Latiker, assistant professor in the College of Education and the academic coach for JSU's Call Me Mister Program. "You often find that male teachers address minor classroom infractions in ways that cause little disruption to the flow of the lesson, such as moving closer to the student or use a slight, touch on the shoulder. Whereas, female teachers are more likely to address behaviors verbally." Latiker teaches all five of the "Misters" in his Introduction to Education class. "I'm very impressed with them. They each came to us with their own strengths and weaknesses. They're actually starting to bond and support one another, which is a key part of the program because we want to make sure they provide one another with their particular network," Latiker says. The cohort will matriculate through the same curriculum as other education majors, but it will also have a co-curriculum that reinforces the mission of the program. "It does dive into teaching and different strategies - professionalism, preparing leaders and making sure they're good mentors or role models for the students they're going to teach," Latiker says. "The selection process is not just about academic performance. If we select people who really want to be teachers, if we provide them the proper support system, they're going to be successful." The original Call Me Mister program got its start in South Carolina, a state bearing the scars of a depressed economy, struggling schools and a prison system swollen from a booming black, male population. Clemson University, partnering with three historically black colleges and universities - Benedict College, Claflin University and Morris College - launched the program in 2000. At the time, less than 1 percent of the teachers in the schools were black males, around 200 individuals spread over 600 schools, says Dr. Roy Jones, executive director of Call Me Mister and associate professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson. "The prison population was 65 percent black/brown," Jones says. "There were more black men spending a night in a jail cell than a college dormitory. We couldn't do anything about getting prisoners out of jail, but we thought maybe we could do something about preventing more black males from going to prison." Jones says it was natural for HBCUs to become part of the project since the institutions graduate 50 percent of the nation's African-American teachers. "Clemson could raise funds and handle marketing and promotion. The HBCUs brought recruitment, retention and development." More than a decade later, the program continues to thrive, expanding to other states and gaining numerous educational partners, including 16 colleges and universities in South Carolina. The program graduated its first class in 2004, and it has 123 graduates who are fully certified. Jones says 160 more will matriculate in the fall into partner colleges and universities. "Since 2004, we've never lost a soul," Jones says. "A few have become principals and are leading schools in remarkable ways." Jones expects a similar outcome at JSU, where a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is funding the program, though the university is actively seeking additional resources to expand. At Isabel Elementary School in west Jackson, the five "Misters" comfortably interact with the young students. Moten sits next to an 8-year-old named Robert, guiding him through a reading exercise. Nineteen-year-olds Heidelberg and Gatewood bend over the work tables and listen as the children describe their exercise. Heidelberg is hopeful his decision to pursue an educator's path will inspire schoolmates who have lost their way. "I want to be a role model to the males at Provine High School," he says. Baldwin, a 19-year-old from Atlanta, smiles as he watches the students. "They're future business leaders and, perhaps, future presidents." The "Misters" are only visiting on this particular day. Later, they spend the entire summer at Clemson, immersed in a culture of education, mentoring and service as part of the Call Me Mister Leadership Institute. Jones says the institute is intense because the issue is so crucial. The overall state of young black males is a challenge for the country. "We have got to collectively be able to curtail the wicked trend among the masses of black boys not pursuing education," Jones says. For Gatewood, the experience is an eye-opener. "It was more than I expected," Gatewood says. "We had to make up lesson plans and work with the children every day. I really got a feel for what I'm going to do when I graduate." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2014meeting-form.html for the October 26-28, 2014 HBCU Library Alliance 6th Membership Meeting in Atlanta GA!