Pitt study shows racially conscious parenting strategies can be the key to student success in school
PITTSBURGH— African-American adolescents tend to have more success in school if their parents instill in them a sense of racial pride, reducing their vulnerability to the effects of racial discrimination from teachers and peers.
This is the conclusion of a University of Pittsburgh study published this fall in the journal Child Development. Titled “Parental Racial Socialization as a Moderator of the Effects of Racial Discrimination on Educational Success Among African-American Adolescents,” the research article shows that when African-American parents use racial socialization—talking to their children or engaging in activities that promote feelings of racial knowledge, pride and connection—it offsets racial discrimination’s potentially negative impact on students’ academic development.
Preparing the adolescents for possible bias was also a protective factor, though a combination of this preparation and racial socialization was found to be ideal in moderating the possible damaging effects of racial discrimination by teachers or fellow students. The Pitt study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
“Our findings challenge the notion that ‘race blindness’ is a universally ideal parenting approach, especially since previous research has shown that racially conscious parenting strategies at either extreme—either ‘race blindness’ or promoting mistrust of other races—are associated with negative outcomes for African-American youth,” said lead author Ming-Te Wang, Pitt Assistant Professor of Psychology in Education who co-authored the study with Harvard’s James P. Huguley.
“When African American parents instill a proud, informed and sober perspective of race in their sons and daughters, these children are more likely to experience increased academic success,” said Wang.
Although previous studies have shown that parental racial socialization is beneficial to the mental health of African-American youth, few researchers have looked at how daily experiences with racial discrimination in a school context are related to the child’s educational prospects.
Scholarly research has shown that African-American students, males in particular, are at risk for being unfairly disciplined, being discouraged from taking advanced classes, or receiving lower grades than they deserved, all because of their race. Other studies point to negative peer treatment because of race—getting into fights, being bullied, or not being selected for teams or activities.
Wang and Huguley explored how racial discrimination relates to the students’ educational outcomes, specifically grade point averages, educational aspirations, the sense of belonging to a school and cognitive engagement, which is the initiative a student takes in his or her own learning. And they set out to determine how the outcomes are affected by parental racial socialization.
Using a combination of questionnaires and face-to-face interviews of both students and parents, the study examines the home and school racial experiences of 630 African-American high school students in a diverse but mostly Black urban area on the East Coast of the United States.
Unlike other studies that focus on low-income families, this project involved participants who came from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. The median household income range was $46,000-$50,000, and 40 percent of the parents or guardians had a college degree.
Overall, the study found racial pride to be the most powerful factor in protecting children from the sting of discriminatory behavior. It directly and positively related to three out of four academic outcomes—grade point averages, educational aspirations and cognitive engagement—and was directly related to resilience in the face of discrimination. Preparation for bias was directly related to only one outcome—the sense of belonging to a school.
“Our study provides empirical evidence that the longstanding practice in the African-American community of cultivating racial pride and preparing children to face racial bias in society should be considered among appropriate and beneficial practices in parenting Black children,” said Wang, who plans to conduct the same kind of research with Latino and Asian-American teenagers.
The NFL season has come to an end. If you’re a Jets or Giants fan, you are left shaking your heads in disbelief. Both the Jets and Giants will be sitting home on the couch watching the playoffs this year, as both closed out their seasons with disappointing finishes. It is easy to blame the quarterbacks and even injuries as a factor on why both teams failed to make the postseason. Fact is, there are other players who wear NFL jerseys and if one star goes down, the next man on line has to contribute and do his best to perform. Even though there will not be a New York team in this year’s tournament, it is still expected to be an exciting one. Both teams had high expectations, but did not live up to them at all.
For the Jets, since day 1 of training camp, it was nothing but distractions, with Tim Tebow coming to town, Darelle Revis reportedly unhappy about his contract and every week seeming to bring a new act to the Jets circus. Their offense was out of sync all year long and when Santonio Holmes, arguably their best weapon on offense went down with a season-ending foot injury, the offense continued to deteriorate every week. Mark Sanchez was horrible. There really is no other word you can put out there other than the word itself to describe his season. In fact the Jets as a team were nearly second to last in almost every offensive categories this year. The defense, which was a strong point for the team last year didn’t really live up to the hype as well. Just like the offense, their best player on defense went down for the season with an ACL injury and without him the Jets looked like a Divison III college team. This past Monday, in what is known as “Black Monday” for coaches who are on the hot seat, 7 coaches were fired and a few general managers lost their jobs as well. Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum was one of the GM’s who was given the pink slip. For the time being, coach Rex Ryan’s job appears to be safe. The Jets’ miserable season ended with a 28-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Looking forward to 2013, the Jets will be searching for a new GM, a running back, another receiver to take pressure off Holmes when he returns and maybe even a quarterback. Sanchez may have very well played his last game as a Jet and Tim Tebow appears to want out of New York.
As for the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, it was just bad play by the team that costs them a shot to defend their title this year. So Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw were banged up all year long, still the Giants had the roster to get over the hump and play productive football towards the end. After a hot 6-2 start, the Giants won just three games after that and as they were losing games, quarterback Tony Romo and Robert Griffin III (RG3) were winning games for their respective teams, and overtook the Giants in the division. Opposing teams had Victor Cruz on their radar after the fantastic season he has last year, the more he got better , the more teams studied him on their scouting report. As a result there was not so much Salsa dancing going on this year. The Giants, unlike the Jets finished the season with a winning record at 9-7 despite missing the playoffs. The Giants looked like they were back to normal as they crushed the Eagles at home in their season finale by the score of 42-7. The win was a little too late as the Bears defeated the Lions, which ultimately eliminated the Giants from playoff contention. The Giants need to invest in a running back to take pressure the off of Eli Manning so that he wont have to drop back and throw the ball 40 times a game. Although both teams disappointed, next year is always promising. We’ll see what 2013 brings for both the Giants and Jets.
Sports Notes
: (Basketball): The Nets looked to try and recover from the beat down that the Spurs gave them to close out 2012. In 2013 the Nets look to get things back on track as they head to the nation’s capital to face the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Amar’e Stoudemire made his season debut against the Portland Trail Blazers in a 105-100 loss despite Carmelo Anthony dropping in 45 points. The Knicks look to capture their 1st victory in 2013 as they are at home to face the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.
The statistics on our youth are dismal and demands / deserves the attention of all.
What can we expect from a generation of youth living with the prospect of their life being taken by gunfire? We owe them more. We owe them LIFE. Every individual who interacts with a child has an opportunity and obligation to make a difference in that child’s life, beginning with parents on the home front and school where the child spends equal number of waking hours. Parents and teachers are responsible for the child’s development. We have a choice- continue to allow children to lose their lives on the streets and in the prisons or do whatever it takes to reprogram ourselves. I suggest we take another look at what is needed in order to survive and thrive – and for our children’s sake – let’s focus on them.
Acknowledge your feelings as well as the child’s.
The next time you’re upset or angry, search for the feeling that preceded the anger and just allow yourself to feel that until it goes away. We live in a culture filled with hypocrisy because we’ve been conditioned to hide our feelings. While therapists are trained to address this, how many of us seek out the help of therapists? How many can afford it?
Children have feelings and they should be allowed to express them. Emotions are transient as long as they can be expressed. If stifled, the feelings may affect the child’s perception of people and things in a negative way into adulthood. Instead of criticizing the child, help the child get to the source by helping him identify the feeling that triggers the upset.
Don’t judge, attack or curse.
We need to stop the attacks, blame and criticisms. Simply state the facts so that constructive action can happen. Start listening to yourself to hear what your child hears from you. Know that it might not be easy since we’re generally repeating or reacting to what we grew up with. We’re killing the self-esteem of our youth – our future. All adults must get it – it simply has to stop. The buck stops here with each and every adult.
Get to know your child –
Observe what he enjoys doing. Make sure you schedule those activities regularly or save them for rewards or special occasions.
Catch them doing something right often –
Look for opportunities to say “Great Job” as often as you can. Find a gentle way to correct. Instead of an impatient “No” or “That’s not right”, perhaps say “Ummm, maybe you could try it another way” and suggest another way, working with the child now, not ordering or judging.
Give child individual attention regularly. Find a pocket of time for each of your children. It may be a mere five minutes but those few minutes focused on that child sends a message: “With all my parents have to do, I am important!” Needless to say, special trips and activities always make a difference.
Let your child contribute. Chores allow children to know they can contribute to the household. Find skills and talents your child possess and create ways for them to be used. Seven-year-old Malaika and her nine-year-old sister Nailah have been assigned household chores for a few years. Recently, Malaika announced she was learning to type in a computer class, proudly announcing the keys she could reach. I’ve been gathering news from family members who are living in five states for a monthly newsletter – Family Flash. Malaika typed a section of the January 2013 edition and her sister Nailah, who had not announced any typing skills, asked to type her family’s news. They both did an incredible job, leaving me totally impressed. Parents and grandparents have the opportunity to let the children practice what they learn. Being appreciated for their performance will inspire their performance in school.
Allow your child the power of choice. Find opportunities for child to choose from a selection of sanctioned options. It gives children the feeling of being capable. Older children will probably go outside your box, and then be prepared to present rational reasons, never “Because I said so”.
Accept and honor your child’s uniqueness. If we are nurtured, we grow to express our uniqueness and contribute to the world. The seed knows what it is and what it’s come to do. Provide the nurturing and trust nature to provide the direction. Readers are invited to join the conversation with shared experiences, questions and comments /parentsnotebook@yahoo.com
Marie Chauvet-Monchik, Principal of PS/MS 138, at mid-December rally protesting charter school co-location.
Marie Chauvet-Monchik, Principal of PS/MS 138, stood in bold defiance before Chancellor Walcott and the members of the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) to defend her school against co-location. “I am the proud principal of PS 138,” said Monchik. “For the last five years, my school had one B and four consecutive A’s. One A is a lucky charm. Two A’s is success. Three A’s is academic superiority. That is what my school offers. We have more than just three A’s. [We have] four.”
Acknowledging charter school parents who say how successful their schools are, Monchik declared, “I am as successful as you. So parents are saying, ‘Give me choice.’ My school is the choice.”
Monchik outlined the opportunities parents are given at her school for their children to be educated. “I take children from pre-K, when they are 3 or 4 years old. By the time they graduate at 13 and 14, some of them have 6 high school credits that they earn at PS 138. They take the Regents and they pass it. Some of them go to academically excellent high schools like Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech and so on,” said Monchik.
“When my students graduate and go to college,” she added, “they come back and thank me for it.”
Monchik spoke of how she felt about a charter school co-location in her building. “But now you want to take my school and tell me that Success Academy will give the children choice,” Monchik said. “It’s not fair.”
In the face of the impending PEP vote to co-locate in her school, Monchik said, “All I want to tell you is you are taking away my space and giving it to Success [Academy]. You tell them they have choice. Well, the choice is 138. I am choice, too. And I am a successful school.”
That evening, PEP voted to co-locate Success Academy in Monchik’s building. Success Academy is a charter school group founded by former City Council member Eva Moskowitz. At the December meeting, in addition to PS/MS 138, PEP voted to add six co-location schools (one in the Bronx, three in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan).
At a recent public hearing the PS/MS 130 co-location, several dozen children, teachers, elected officials and community activists expressed their views overwhelmingly opposing the change. The comments were analyzed and a questionable assessment was published.
While acknowledging the positive performance of PS 138, the DOE does not anticipate that the co-location will have an effect on school programming. The DOE does not use existing school performance as co-location criteria and it states 33% of all DOE buildings house more than one school organization. While asserting there are not a sufficient number of school buildings to allow each school organization to operate in its own building, DOE ignores some facts. With the closing of numerous Catholic schools in NYC, there are many unutilized school buildings available. In addition, there are empty former public school buildings. One located on Blake and Rockaway Avenues in Brownsville has been unused and fallow for years.
DOE defends its decision to co-locate in 138 despite the experience of co-locating Explorer Empower in the building 3 years ago. At the time, Explorer Empower served students K-second grade, which led to such overcrowding the school was relocated within a matter of months. It didn’t matter that Explorer was projected to serve K-8 at scale, just as it doesn’t matter that Success plans to serve K-5.
DOE states enrollment at 138 has dropped 15% since Explorer was co-located there. At the co-location public hearing, Principal Monchik stated PS/MS 138 is only allowed to have three kindergarten classes. Monchik recommended allowing PS/MS 138 to have four, instead of co-locating Success in her school. Adding another kindergarten class, as well as a Gifted and Talented (G&T) class would address the enrollment decline, Principal Monchik said. DOE’s answer was District 17’s PS 161 serves G&T needs.
At the public hearing, Principal Monchik told of her student’s parents who received pre-PEP approval advertisements from Success Academy for the 2013-14 school term as if they were already in the building. Those parents vowed they would not complete Success applications and many told Monchik they threw them away. DOE stated that Success was authorized by SUNY, its charter authorizer, to open in Brooklyn in 2013, pending PEP approval. Charter schools maintain the right to advertise their programs and recruit students to apply for entry via a blind lottery. Noncharter schools also maintain the right to advertise their school and programs, but public schools generally do not have the budget that charter schools have to advertise. DOE did not that any proposed co-locations of schools in charter school advertising should have been listed as pending PEP approval.
Regarding one concern about charter schools not serving special education students or counseling out students with special needs or behavioral issues, DOE pointed to state law which requires all public charter schools must serve all students admitted through their lotteries, and serve a percentage of special education and English Language Learner (ELL) students comparable to the district average. Charter schools that fail to meet special education and/or ELL targets risk being closed or having their renewal applications rejected. In addition, DOE asserts that a school is not advantaged by having a lower enrollment of ELL and special education students because Progress Reports provide “extra credit” as an incentive to serve special needs students well.
Although Principal Monchik has installed two fully functional science labs in PS/MS 138, school footprint guidelines only require one, with several “cluster” rooms that can be used for art, music or science instruction at the principal’s discretion. The Office of Space Planning, in collaboration with the Building Councils, approved the co-location. Should the decision include allocating specific rooms to Success that are currently being used by PS 138 to offer amenities, the DOE may replace and construct new amenities in other areas of the building in order to continue supporting PS 138’s programming needs. But this is not guaranteed.
There are concerns that Success Academy’s longer school day might interfere with PS/MS 138’s Medgar Evers College Beacon Programs that operate in the building between 3-6pm. The Building Utilization Plan (BUP) did not allocate time beyond 3pm in the shared spaces (library, auditorium, cafeteria, and gymnasium) to either of the co-located schools in the proposed shared space schedule. The Building Council will allocate time in the shared spaces as needed for after-school programs. DOE concludes Success Academy’s longer school day will have no impact on the ability of the Beacon Program to use shared spaces during after-school hours.
Schools all across the city have been targeted for co-locations of charter schools in recent years under Bloomberg’s Mayoral Control. Co-locations accelerated when NYS more than doubled the number of charter schools, lifting the cap from 200 to 460. Communities can look forward to more charter school co-locations. The question is whether communities become proactive instead of reactive.
Marvell Cruikshank with two of her children in happier times.
Four-year-old Arianah Cruickshank was allowed by her foster mother to run in the park unsupervised with a New Year’s horn in her mouth last Jan. 1, 2012. She fell. The horn punctured the back of Arianah’s throat. Doctors at the treating hospital told Marvell that the horn could have resulted in the loss of her vocal cords or death. Yet, no one with the foster agency informed her of her child’s injuries.
How did Arianah find herself in foster care? Her 14-year-old sister Deonna thought she was grown and wanted to run the streets. Her mother, Marvell Cruickshank, was providing a religious upbringing and would not allow it. Deonna got the bright idea to call child protective services, thinking that once she was removed from under her mother’s supervision, she would be able to do what she wanted.
Sometime in October 2011, ACS called at 9am requesting Marvell bring her children in for an emergency meeting that day. The children were already at school and Marvell did not receive the message until 1:30pm. By that time, the agency determined it was necessary to conduct an emergency removal and obtained Marvell’s children – Deonna, Tyonna and Arianah – from school.
Since the removal, Deonna has been in at least two different foster homes. According to Marvell, she has been suspended from school, received a “promotion in doubt” letter, and has been chronically late and absent from school.
Marvell alleges the foster care agency that has her children – the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services – has not offered family reunification services. Of her own initiative, Marvell sought out and completed two parenting skills programs and two anger management programs. In January 2012, she enrolled herself to receive mental health services. On April 6, 2012, Marvell provided the foster agency with the original certificates from the parenting and anger management programs. Yet on April 17, the agency presented documentation to the court that they never received any proof validating Marvell’s attendance or completion of any of the programs.
Marvell stated she asked Mr. Vladimir Carvajal, a director with the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services, what the agency was doing regarding the reunification of her family. According to Marvell, Mr. Carvajal’s response was: “Ms. Cruickshank, you are the reason your children remain in force together longer than necessary.”
Arianah’s pre-K graduation took place on June 6. No one informed Marvell that her daughter was graduating, nor did anyone invite her to the ceremony. Marvell states, “Although my children are in foster care, that does not give anyone the right to exclude me from sharing special moments with my children. I had a right to be informed of this event”, Marvell added, “What disturbs me the most is that no one felt it was necessary to notify Arianah’s parents.”
According to Marvell, on June 28, 2012, agency Assistant Director Darving Irrizzary notified her that one of her daughters attorneys reported that one of her daughter’s is afraid of her. This allegation came as a shock to Marvell, since she just had a supervised visit with her children on June 23. During the visit, Marvell’s daughters were happy to see her and gave her drawings, letters, and poems expressing love for their mother. The family took pictures during the visit, yet agency personnel refused to acknowledge obvious indications of family love. Marvell believes the agency is trying to manufacture dysfunction where there is none.
But on June 27, 2012, Michael Somma, attorney for 10-year-old Tyonna, petitioned the court to hear from the children directly, as they very much want to go home to their mother. Somma requested that the court “authorize the return of Tyonna, or at least a trial discharge very quickly”.
After a happy family visitation at the agency on July 11 in which Marvell took pictures, read a book to her children and brought journals so that her children could draw their feelings. The children’s godmother, Jean Grant, informed Marvell that the agency ordered that the children were no longer allowed to call their mother. Grant also indicated that if Grant takes the children to church and Marvell is in attendance, the children are not allowed to interact with her. Agency personnel told Grant if she does not follow their rules she would be in violation of the agency’s policies that could result in removing the children from her care.
To this day, Marvell doesn’t know who her children’s foster parent is and who is responsible for her children’s day-to-day care.
When her children were originally picked up from school by ACS, Marvell expressed that she wanted them placed in a home that would respect her family’s religious and dietary tenets. Marvell suggested her children’s godmother, Jean Grant, who had stood with them when they were baptized. In February, god mother Grant became responsible for supervising informal visits at the family church on Friday evenings and Sunday worship services, separate from official visits at the agency. Jean Grant expressed to Marvell that she did not have room in her home for the children, but her friend Joan Powell lives around the corner and had space for them. Though Marvell is not sure, apparently, Joan Powell takes the children to school and Jean Grant takes them to church. In July, Jean Grant wrote a notarized statement in which she called Joan Powell “the other foster parent”.
Official documentation from the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services states that the children are in kinship foster care. The oldest daughter Deonna is residing in the home of her maternal aunt. Arianah and Tyonna are in the home of Ms. Powell, who is not a family member. Marvell didn’t know of Joan Powell who is Grant’s friend until Grant suggested Powell had space in her home.
During supervised visitations, Marvell noticed her children were underdressed for the weather, wearing dirty clothing, shoes were too small. The children’s hair was dirty, and when asked, the children said no one washes their hair.
In July, Marvell’s great-aunt (Deonna’s foster parent) observed serious 2
nd -degree burns on Arianah, and called the State Central Registry child abuse hotline to report. The foster agency did not notify Marvell of the injury. Instead, Marvell found out about the burns when State Registry personnel contacted her to investigate. Marvell is wondering why she received a document updating her of the investigation that states Jean Grant’s address as Joan Powell’s address.
Foster care agency personnel conducted a home visit on October 24, 2012. Marvell showed them the children’s beds and installed window guards. They tested the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. They saw that her kitchen was stocked with food and her apartment was sanitary. When they asked to see her bedroom, Marvell declined, citing religious modesty. The agency personnel reported to the court that they were concerned Marvell was hiding something in her bedroom. The agency also accused Marvell of forging or coercing handwritten statements from her children expressing their wish to come home.
During a November 15, 2012 Permanency Hearing, Christopher Keating (law guardian to five-year-old Arianah Cruickshank) raised a series of allegations not based in any fact related to Arianah’s foster parent Joan Powell. Keating asked if Marvell was aware Arianah was not in school that day. Marvell responded ‘no.” after the hearing, Marvell promptly called Arianah’s school and confirmed she was in attendance.
Keating asked if Marvell had been calling Powell’s home at 2am and 5am. Since Marvell did not have Powell’s phone number, the answer was no. Keating asked if Marvell slashed Powell’s tires. Marvell doesn’t know Powell’s home address or what vehicle she drives. Keating then asked if Marvell ever undressed her daughter in front of people at the foster care agency, but Marvell observes her religious tenets, which includes staying covered, especially in public.
Marvell believes Keating’s intent was to portray her in a negative light before the court, instead of representing her daughters’ expressed wishes to be returned home to her mother.
Carlos, Marvell’s husband, has visitations separate from Marvell. “When the children were taken from Marvell, they never consulted with me about taking my children. I have been fighting to get my children to be returned to my wife. But nobody is listening to us. It is like we are nothing,” said Carlos. “My wife did everything – parenting classes, anger management and everything. I am wondering why they still keep saying she is not worthy of taking care of her own children. Since they have our children, what they are missing is love.”
“When my wife had the children, nothing ever happened to them,” said Carlos. “But they keep saying my wife is not worthy enough. What do you mean she’s not worthy enough to take care of our own children? They told us in court our children are going to be put up for adoption. How are our children going up for adoption? I don’t agree with my children being put up for adoption. I told them.”
Sekai Adebante has taught both Arianah and Tyonna. “Ariana was very bright. She was the head of the class. She was alert. She not only answered questions, she asked questions. She was very inquisitive, good at math and strong as a prereader. I knew she was going to do very well for the whole school year. I was very disappointed when she left because she was leading the class. Little kids inspire each other.” Ms. Adebante said, “Ms. Cruickshank was the only parent to come in and volunteer at that time of the year.” According to Ms. Adebante, Marvell was very supportive and came to all the school meetings, parent-teacher conferences. “She was serious about her children’s education,” said Ms. Adebante, who has been teaching since 1981.
As a mandated reporter/teacher, Ms. Adebante said she did not see any signs of abuse – no marks, no walking in pain, Arianah did not cower in fear, nothing. She was very well-adjusted, very eager to learn, motivated, and a leader. She got along with her peers. When she left the class was devastated. They were asking every day “Where is Arianah?” she was very socially solid. She came with very good grounding. The kids missed her.”
“This is not an easy thing to go through,” said Ms. Adebante. “Ms. Cruickshank is very strong.”
