Possibility of all-Black school for boys
AVBCC, Palmdale district working together
PALMDALE, Calif.—Palmdale School District Superintendent Roger Gallizzi presented the Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce (AVBCC) with an innovative idea that he felt might help close the achievement gap between African American, Latino and White students—that is, to erect an all-Black male school. Gallizzi discussed the possibility with AVBCC and the school district, as well as other African American-based community groups and leaders.
“There are some models of single-gender schools that are successful,” he said. “African American males are our biggest at-risk population. This might be one way of intervention. But we wouldn’t move forward without the full support from the community.”
He also mentioned that at that point the idea wasn’t something the school board backs. In fact, the idea had not been formally introduced to the district. However, Gallizzi understood it could be a controversial move albeit well supported by members of the community.
Rich Poston, AVBCC chairman, said that intervention for the African American educational community is a must and such a school could be the key to closing the achievement gap.
“I’m really looking for anything that will shorten the gap,” he said, mentioning that schools across the country, particularly on the East Coast, have proven gender and possibly race segregation in school establishes a better learning environment.
“This is something that works. I think we should consider it,” he said.
Poston said the chamber was going to begin investigating the benefits and negatives of establishing a school for Black males by looking at models in Los Angeles County and all over the nation.
PALMDALE, Calif.—As is customary, business members of the community gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn for the monthly Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce luncheon. This month’s special guest was Palmdale School District Superintendent Roger Gallizzi, who presented the district’s innovative ideas and interventions to help close the achievement gap between African American, Latino and White students.
The Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce held its super mixer on Friday, March 25, in a lively room at the Joshua Memorial Park & Mortuary, hosted by the chamber’s vice president Curtis Woods.
Mortuary?
“We wanted to bring a little light to the profession,” said Woods, general manager of the mortuary.
“People don’t expect that people who are in this profession are fun and sociable. We like to break that mold.”
LANCASTER, Calif.—For years parents and community activists have been concerned about a growing school trend—truancy tickets, also known as curfew tickets. The tickets are issued to minors who are found off school premises during school hours without a guardian.
Not only are off-campus teen loiterers being ticketed, but also late students, some arriving a few minutes after the bell rings.
PALMDALE, Calif.—Money is scarce, jobs are rare and business is not booming, so it’s time to get smart. An old practice in the Black community used to be cooperative economics, when everyone supported everyone else’s business and enterprise, and when families only bought from Black stores and ate at Black restaurants.
Calvin Kennedy, founder of Ausar Consulting, began his journey to reestablishing cooperative economics in 2001 when he began to recognize the viability of Black business.
How much do most big corporate advertisers respect the African American consumer—25 percent, 15 percent, 5 percent, or 1 percent?
If you guessed 1 percent you were wrong. It’s less than that—.68 percent, to be exact.
Of the $263.7 billion spent annually on advertising within the nation, less that 1 percent is used to target African American consumers, despite the fact that Black buying power is estimated at around $857 billion, according to the 2010 census.
