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Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_10.03.08 - Index

OCTOBER 3, 2008 EDUCATION BRENTWOODPRESS.COM | 11A
Boys’ charter school impresses board
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
A couple of Antioch Middle School
teachers seeking to open a charter school
focused on teaching math and science to
African-American boys (but open to all boys)
received praise from Antioch Unifi ed School
District Board members last week.
Karla Branch and Lawrence Rasheed
made an impressive presentation for their
proposed RAAMP Charter Academy of
Mathematics and Science. RAAMP stands
for Reaching African-American Males’
Potential, which is the name of the student
group that Rasheed mentors at his school.
The board room at the recent meeting
was packed with charter school supporters,
many of whom spoke after Branch and
Rasheed’s slide presentation.
Branch pointed out that “the
achievement gap is huge for minority
populations.” In AUSD schools, 60 percent
of whites are profi cient in English compared
to only 29 percent of African-Americans and
27 percent of Latinos. In math, 53 percent
of whites are profi cient compared to only 30
percent of Latinos and 24 percent of African-
Americans. At the same time, the United
States lags far behind other industrialized
countries in math (25th) and science (21st)
education.
Their proposed charter school is
“designed to engage our minority students
into math and science,” said Branch. They
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plan to make it a K through ninth-grade
school to provide an extra year of study that
includes biology and geometry.
“We feel they need that extra year in
an environment where they can focus on
academics and not worry about the pressures
of high school and not getting behind in
credits,” said Branch. “So when we release
them back into the comprehensive high
schools, they will be on track and ready to
excel through graduation and hopefully onto
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Lawrence Rasheed and Karla Branch are proposing to open a charter school
focusing on teaching math and science (along with other required subjects) to
minority boys.
college.
“We want to get those deemed at risk
for failure, the ones who are removed for
behavior sometimes because they are simply
boys. Also … sometimes there’s a very good
reason why the student doesn’t go to college.
If that’s the case, we have to make them
workforce ready. We want them ready to at
least do meaningful work.”
Rasheed said that the learning will be
more hands-on than in a regular classroom
and the all-boys environment will allow the
students to drop what Rasheed called “the
mask of masculinity … that we need to be
macho, super macho. In this environment,
males become more gentlemen. They are
more chivalrous; they respect women more
so in this environment. In addition, they don’t
have the distraction of a young lady (in the
classroom).
Another innovation is that the students
will stay with the same teacher for two or
three years at a time. “For some of these
young men, consistency is the huge missing
piece of their life,” said Branch. “If we can
give it to them in the academic setting, they
will gain a comfort level and be able to engage
in the learning.”
Many people spoke in favor of the
school, including City Councilman Reggie
Moore.
“This is something I think we have
needed in this community for a very long
time,” he said. “I see this as the next natural
step in providing more choice and opportunity
in our community to enhance the quality of
life for all students in this district. I can see
where this charter school would be a great fi t
for the types of things this council is trying to
achieve in this community.”
The school board members were also
impressed. Claire Smith said that she loves
the uniforms that are planned for the new
school: kindergarten through fi rst-grade
see Charter page 25A