Why black-focused school if Pathways program successful?
Some straight talk. Toronto public school students already have access to the Pathways to Education program which has significantly reduced drop out rates in one Toronto community (Regents Park) from 56% to 10% — a reduction of 46%! And, not only that, but the program increased the number of students who went on to post-secondary programs from 20% to 80% — an increase of 60%!
So, why did the parents and general public support the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) decision to open a black-focused “segregated” school? Why, with such positive results being experienced in a predominantly black Toronto community, did the notion of an “Africentric” school seems so important? Just how will a black-focused curriculum reduce drop out rates more than the 46%? And, just how will such a segregated environment ensure a higher proportion of students go on to college and university than the 60% increase already experienced by Pathways graduates?
Moreover, why did the board list the following approved strategies and the necessity for a pilot program, yet not mention Pathways? For example, the TDSB’s recommended strategies included:
- Establishing a Program Area Review Team to recommend the program and operational model for an Africentric Alternative School opening in September 2009;
- Establishing a pilot program in three existing schools integrating the histories, cultures, experiences and contributions of people of African descent and other racialized groups into curriculum, teaching practices and school environment;
- Establishing a Staff Development, Research and Innovation Centre in collaboration with post-secondary institutions and community agencies to assess best practices for improving the success of marginalized and vulnerable students; and
- Developing an action plan for addressing underachievement for all marginalized and vulnerable students.
Although I have absolutely nothing to do with the Pathways program (which is operated by a not-for-profit organization called the Boston Consulting Group), why is it that it is good enough to be expanded into five other Canadian communities, including two more in Toronto, one in Kitchener, one in Ottawa and one in Montreal, yet not used in lieu of a black-focused school?
While the Toronto Sun’s editorial today also questions the stand-alone school decision, one has to wonder, if the TDSB already has access to a program that reduces the drop out rates for black students, what is the REAL agenda for this black-focused school?
Why a blacks-only school when the Pathways program — which offers “academic tutoring, group mentoring, student and parent advocacy and support and scholarships for all students who complete high school and get into post-secondary programs” — has been so successful?
Is there a prejudice between Toronto communities? Is it something else? Whatever the case, it seems to me that TDSB staff and its “Africentric Secretariat” has some explaining to do — to both its trustees and to the general public.
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