Thought it might be a good time to update you on the Gentlemen of Knowledge.
That’s the group of African-American male students at Rivercrest High who are changing the world. I last wrote about them in June, in case you don’t clip, save and memorize all of my columns.
Here’s the background. Rivercrest, like other schools in Arkansas and across the nation, faces a persistent difference in test scores between white and black students. At this rural Northeast Arkansas school district, only 31 percent of African-American juniors scored proficient on the 2010 end-of-course literacy exam, compared to 64 percent of white students.
That wasn’t good enough for Lindsey Spears, then a 24-year-old English teacher, or veteran assistant principal Tom Bennett, both of whom are white. They decided to try a novel approach: Asking the students for their help in bridging the achievement gap. Grade by grade, African-American students were summoned to the library, shown the test scores, and asked what the barriers to achievement were and what the school could do differently. The students also were interviewed in small groups.
The intended result was that educators better understood how to reach members of that population, and that did happen.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Just as important, a group of African-American male students, offended that minority students were falling behind their white peers, formed the Gentlemen of Knowledge to hold each other accountable and to serve as examples for their fellow students of all races. Their motto is “Impossible,” a play on the words, “I’m possible.”
In one year, African-American scores on that end-of-course literacy exam rose 17 percent, to 48 percent scoring proficient. Educators expect even more improvement this year.
That kind of complete turnaround is rare in any kind of established institution, including public education. Some might even have called it impossible.
So what’s new? For starters, the Gentlemen are beginning to make a name for themselves. In December, they presented a session before 700 members of the Arkansas School Boards Association who were ready to carry them out of the Peabody Hotel on their shoulders.
They flew directly from that meeting to Washington, D.C., to attend the National Opportunity to Learn Summit, where they met with the vice president of the Schott Foundation, which promotes equal opportunities and high achievement in schools. It was their first visit to the nation’s capital, first airplane flight, and first time to ride a subway. As they toured the city, they wore matching shirts that led strangers to ask who they were and what their purpose was. According to Spears, they never shied away from sharing their story.
They have been corresponding with students in other districts in hopes of forming like-minded groups. An online Skype session involving a number of schools is being planned. According to Spears, Nettleton Junior High’s group in Jonesboro has advanced the farthest. Students there traveled to Rivercrest to spend a day with the Gentlemen, and the Gentlemen will return the favor for a motivational day at Nettleton on Jan. 26. The Nettleton group requested and received permission to use the same name.
Meanwhile, the Gentlemen are solidifying and expanding their mission. They have started a community service project to collect used shoes to benefit children in Kenya. Membership requirements have been created that include a minimum 2.5 grade point average, good behavior and demonstrated leadership.
“You pay more attention to what you do because you don’t want to get kicked out of the Gentlemen of Knowledge,” senior Terrian Tyler told school board members. “I mean, this is where the cool kids are.”
Earlier this year, an information session was formed for potential new members. Spears said her classroom was nearly filled, half with white students.
That’s right, white students. The group decided last year that educational achievement is for all and that it didn’t want to limit its membership to one race. As junior DeSean Gordan told school board members, “This January, we’re going to branch out a little bit to show people that it’s not just African-American. We’re not just like that. You know, we’re American.”
Spears said she’s not worried that diversifying the group will dilute its mission or its impact on African-American students. “I don’t think we’re going to lose that,” she said. “I think all we’re going to do is maybe add some more people to motivate because our African-American population is pretty sold on the process.”
A group for young ladies also is being formed.
I’m out of space, or I would tell you more. We’ll check back with the Gentlemen in six months, unless they change the world before then.
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Steve Brawner is an independent journalist in Arkansas. His blog — Independent Arkansas — is linked at Arkansasnews.com. His e-mail address is brawnersteve@mac.com.