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The Pledge
“A Pledge by America’s Great City Schools” is a pact among urban school districts to improve the educational outcomes of Males of Color by implementing a set of evidence-based strategies that range from early childhood through graduation. The Pledge outlines 11 areas that impact the outcomes of Males of Color which taken together has the potential to transform how schools educate Males of Color from different racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Over sixty large city superintendents and school boards have signed onto the Pledge and have committed to implementing long-term initiatives in their respective districts to improve the lives of Males of Color.
Click here to download the Pledge.
A Pledge by America’s Great City Schools
- Whereas, some 32 percent of the nation’s African American males and some 39 percent of the nation’s Hispanic males attend school each day in one of the Great City School systems; and
- Whereas, the academic achievement of Males of Color in the nation’s urban school systems and nationally is well below what it needs to be for these young people to be successful in college and careers; and
- Whereas, disproportionate numbers of Males of Color drop out of urban schools and often have low attendance rates; and
- Whereas, Males of Color disproportionately attend under-resourced schools and are taught by the least-effective teachers; and
- Whereas, the nation’s Great City Schools have an obligation to teach all students under their aegis to the highest academic standards and prepare them for successful participation in our nation:
- Be It Therefore Resolved that, the Great City Schools pledge to ensure that its pre-school efforts better serve Males of Color and their academic and social development, and
- That the Great City Schools will adopt and implement elementary and middle school efforts to increase the pipeline of Males of Color who are succeeding academically and socially in our urban schools and who are on track to succeed in high school, and
- That the Great City Schools will keep data and establish protocols that will allow it to monitor the progress of Males of Color and other students in our schools and appropriately intervene at the earliest warning signs, and
- That the Great City Schools will adopt and implement promising and proven approaches to reducing absenteeism, especially chronic absenteeism, among Males of Color, and
- That the Great City Schools will develop initiatives and regularly report on progress in retaining Males of Color in school and reducing disproportionate suspension and expulsion rates, and
- That the Great City Schools will develop initiatives and regularly report on progress in increasing the numbers of our Males of Color and other students participating in advanced placement and honors courses and gifted and talented programs, and
- That the Great City Schools will strongly encourage colleges of education to adopt curriculum that addresses the academic, cultural, and social needs of Males of Color, and that the district will maintain data on how these teachers do with our Males of Color, and
- That the Great City Schools will develop initiatives and regularly report on progress in increasing the numbers of Males of Color and other students who complete the FASFA, and
- That the Great City Schools will work to reduce as appropriate the disproportionate numbers of Males of Color in special education courses, and
- That the Great City Schools will work to transform high schools with persistently low graduation rates among Males of Color and others and to provide literacy and engagement initiatives with parents, and
- That the Great City Schools will engage in a broader discussion and examination of how issues of race, language, and culture affect the work of our district.
Council of the Great City Schools
Albuquerque Public Schools
Anchorage School District
Atlanta Public Schools
Austin Public Schools
Baltimore City Public Schools
Birmingham Public Schools
Boston Public Schools
Bridgeport Public Schools
Broward County Public Schools
Buffalo Public Schools
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Cincinnati Public Schools
Clark County (Las Vegas) Public Schools
Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Columbus City School District
Dallas Independent School District
Dayton Public Schools
Denver Public Schools
Des Moines Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools
District of Columbia Public Schools
Duval County (Jacksonville) Public Schools
East Baton Rouge Parish School System
El Paso Independent School District
Fort Worth Independent School District
Fresno Unified School District
Guilford County (Greensboro) Public Schools
Hillsborough County (Tampa) Public Schools
Houston Independent School District
Indianapolis Public Schools
Jackson Public Schools
Jefferson County (Louisville) Public Schools
Kansas City (MO) Public Schools
Long Beach Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Milwaukee Public Schools
Minneapolis Public Schools
Nashville Public Schools
Newark Public Schools
New York City Department of Education
Norfolk Public Schools
Oakland Unified School District
Oklahoma City Public Schools
Omaha Public Schools
Orange County (Orlando) Public Schools
Palm Beach School District
Philadelphia School District
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Portland Public Schools
Providence Public Schools
Richmond Public Schools
Rochester City School District
Sacramento City Unified School District
Saint Paul Public Schools
San Diego Unified School District
San Francisco Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools
Shelby County (Memphis) Public Schools
Toledo Public Schools