The National Council on Educating Black Children (NCEBC) and our partners extend a sincere welcome to each one of you and invite you to join us for our Best Practices Symposium: Strengthening Black Male Achievement. NCEBC strongly believes that children, regardless of background, can learn basic skills to sustain them throughout life and make personal fulfillment possible. Over the years, our charge to members of the “village” has been to build partnerships that search for and discover strategies and solutions to ensure that education equates to impartiality and excellence for all children.

Please follow this LINK  for more information and click HERE to view the LIVE streaming session on Friday October 21 @ 11:00AM (ET)

8:08 p.m. EDT, August 11, 2011

SOUTH BEND – As the school year begins later this month, two new literacy centers aim to reach students who are at risk of failing in math and reading.

The centers are designed as an extension of the school day. The same, enrolled group of students will be asked to show up for six to nine hours per week throughout the school year. They’ll dive into a curriculum of science, math and reading, with a focus on literacy, reading, and reading comprehension.

“Our research shows that students need an additional six to eight hours of literacy activities per week in order to make gains,” said Catherine Woodard with the National Council on Educating Black Children, which is bringing the program to South Bend.

Here’s where the centers will be:

At the Charles Martin Youth Center, 802 Lincoln Way W. For third-, fourth- and fifth-graders, it will open Sept. 6 and meet from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Call 574-280-7092 to register or help.

New Generations Christian Ministries, 431 S. Summit Drive. For sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, it will open Aug. 29 and meet from 3 to 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 574-288-2503 or 574-232-0640 to register or help.

The public is invited to a news conference from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at the center at New Generations. Church member Dawn Jones, who is a South Bend school board member, is a coordinator for this center.

The centers evolved from local discussions about how to help failing students, said Gladys Muhammad, associate director of the South Bend Heritage Foundation, which runs the Charles Martin Youth Center.

“It’s not just the schools but the community that needs to take some responsibility,” she said.

The Augustus F. Hawkins Literacy Centers, as they’re known, are among 18 across the country, with four more in the works, said Woodard, who directs the program for the nonprofit NCEBC based in Indianapolis.

Memorial Hospital is providing financial support, and other organizations are bringing in mentors. The South Bend Community School Corp. is donating computers.

Each day’s activities will be led by a rotating group of volunteers – local educators, business people and parents. More helpers are welcome, Muhammad said.

The NCEBC is sending hundreds of “culturally relevant” books to the centers for their own libraries, Woodard said. Extra books will be sent for the students to take home, she said.

Each center will start out working with up to 25 students. Each already has at least 15 kids signed up, thanks to referrals from the school corporation and word-of-mouth, Jones and Muhammad said.

They could end up with a waiting list. Students can stick with the program through the whole school year. By the second semester, organizers said they may accept more students, depending on how many kids leave the program for various reasons.

Other than the students’ grade level, there are no qualifications, but organizers said they really want to reach students who are struggling the most in reading and math. And they’d prefer students in South Bend schools who live near the centers.

Staff writer Joseph Dits:
jdits@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6158

We know that during summer months, most students tend to lose more than two months of progress. Educators typically referred to this summer loss as “summer slide.”  Summer break, although fun for the students, can present other challenges. Students can become bored and disengaged from academic pursuits. Many schools boards, policy makers, and educators agree that summer should be a time for learning and fun, and that combining both during the summer leads students toward better preparation for the next school year.

In our efforts to decrease the likelihood of unsupervised time and ramp up educative time, NCEBC, held a summer literacy program for students entering grades 2 through 6.  Our camp was designed so that students received learning and fun!  Students were engaged in reading/literacy and vocabulary, math, and science each morning for 30-minute increments.  The afternoons included co-curricular enrichment activities, such as healthy living, sports, indoor and outdoor activities, arts and crafts, culinary arts, and music.  Further, students were able to engage in cultural activities including a trip to the circus.

Results: From Summer Slide to Summer Enrichment

According to The Equity Institute (EI) evaluation report, students showed tremendous growth in three academic areas, science, math and reading.  Students were tested weekly using ISTEP sample tests and quizzes and other unique learning technological tools such as Pearson Success Maker.

What did the improvement look like?  In science, all three-class rotations showed an average gain of 17%.  For example, in one of the classes, students who received scores of 60% at the beginning of the session typically scored around 77% by the end of the 5-week session.  Math growth at the end of the five week period was tremendous with test scores increasing by approximately 40%.  Even more surprising, in one of the math
sections, all students scored between 90 and 100%!  And, according to many of our students, they enjoyed math more than anything else offered during the summer.

How did we do it? Yes, we have a winning formula. It includes combining fun with academics, but most importantly, the key to success is found with the people involved in the teaching-learning process. We purposely hired teachers who were culturally engaged with a deep sense of care for all of the students,   and teachers who gained a rapport with parents. We hired committed teachers who “loved and fussed” with the focus on ensuring that each child succeeded.  We hired teachers who maintained high expectations for all students and who understood the importance of mutual respect between families, their children, and themselves.  We attribute these characteristics, attitudes, and skills of that select group of teachers in conjunction with the curriculum and the fun activities, as the recipe for success that challenged the routine summer slide and launched the beginning of a summer educational leap.

For more information, please call 317-283-9081 or email the NCEBC ncebc@sbcglobal.net

About NASA Ignite!™

• NASA Ignite!™ is Indiana’s plan for bringing quality, hands-on NASA activities and professional development to formal and informal education.  Ignite!™ is the result of a dynamic partnership between public and private entities and is committed to delivering quality NASA programming to middle school students in the state of Indiana.
• NASA Ignite!™ is a four-year project developed to provide students in grades 4-9 with summer and afterschool programs focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math content (STEM).
• With the integration of a hands-on NASA curriculum, space-themed video games, and an e-mentoring program, NASA Ignite!™
  aims to engage students in STEM by exposing them to relevant content, career paths and space exploration.  Curriculum, teacher’s manual, instructional guides and classroom materials are provided.
• In partnership with NASA, Ignite will also help to support teachers and educators through the offer of professional development, which can provide both an improvement in afterschool education skills, as well as help to link NASA gaming back to the formal
  classroom. 
• This project is led by Indiana Afterschool Network, in partnership with Indiana Department of Education, the Indiana Mentoring Partnership, WisdomTools Enterprises Inc, and other regional and statewide collaborators. 

Student Participants

Targeting under-represented populations in the STEM fields (African American, Latino, and Female students in particular)

• Must be recommended by Math or Science Teacher
• Must possess basic understanding of 6^th grade-level math and science principals
• Enjoys participating in innovative, engaging, hands-on learning experiences
• Willingness to think “outside” the box and try new things
• Must have parent approval
• Willing to commit to 3 days per week

For more information, please contact NCEBC at ncebc@sbcglobal.net or 317-283-9081

At each Literacy Center, children will be supported and encouraged toward an attitude of accountability and excellence toward his or her academic development and every day social interactions. Local certified educators, curriculum and software-certified trainers, and community stakeholders will implement the NCEBC Augustus F. Hawkins Literacy Center program with the goal to:

 Improve Academic Achievement
 Improve Social Skills & Behavior
 Improve School Attendance
 Increase Family Involvement

Please click to download a flyer or a more detailed program brochure.

Become a Fan and see more

NCEBC is hosting a VIRTUAL Book Fair in partnership with Barnes and Noble. 

From ANY computer —  until Saturday, May 7, 2011 — your online purchase from Barnes and Noble Booksellers  using our customer code: 10480036 will reap at least a 10% return to the communities served by NCEBC.

Thank you for your support!