TCC preparing young black men for college

They have their eyes on twin prizes: first college degrees, then careers in law, medicine, education or business.

But they know it’s going to take hard work to get there.

That’s why these 22 students have traded a summer of hanging out with friends for a summer of study.

“It’s a head start,” said Ty’Ronn Kenny, who recently graduated from Stadium High School and plans to enroll at Tacoma Community College in the fall. He’s undecided whether he will pursue a career in medicine or journalism.

“I thought it would be a nice program to maintain my skills to get to college,” said Levonta Allbritton, another recent Stadium grad who hopes to own a business some day.

“I wanted to turn a bad situation into something good,” said DeAnthony Kimbrew, who earned his high school diploma while incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility. He’s planning a law career.

“I missed high school,” he said. “So I know I will have to work extra hard (in college.)”

They are among the first students to become Men of Distinction – a new summer program at TCC designed to give young black men a booster shot of academics to help them prepare for college in the fall.

“We’re raising the bar,” said Eric Davis, the TCC adjunct faculty member who developed the course. “We want to take away distractions, and hold them to a high level of academic achievement. I’m saying to them that’s there’s no excuse for you not to be excellent, not to be successful.”

At TCC, black men fare worse than black women in terms of staying in school and completing their degrees, among other measures, Davis said.

The Men of Distinction launched their summer studies June 21 and will continue through mid-August. They are focusing on reading, writing and study skills. They are tested both at the beginning and at the end of the program, and the goal is to continue tracking the students as they begin their college careers.

One of the partners is the Tacoma Rainiers. The team hopes to hire some of the students for summer part-time jobs. Other students will be considered for on-campus jobs at TCC.

A graduation ceremony is set for Aug. 16 at Cheney Stadium.

The program has funding from a mix of sources, including TCC and the Achieve the Dream program, a national initiative to help community college students succeed. The funding allows students to attend the summer academy for free.

One of the goals of Men of Distinction is to help close the much-discussed achievement gap – the discrepancy between test scores of minority students and white students that shows up nationwide.

Educators say a lot of factors are involved in the gap, from cultural differences to reduced incomes among minority families. Regardless of the causes, teachers like Davis are in search of a solution.

“I’m a learner-centered teacher,” said Davis, who is black and who teaches ethnic studies and sociology at TCC, Bellevue College and Pierce College. In the past, he was an academic coach for University of Washington student athletes. “I want to keep them engaged.”

He uses a combination of standard textbooks and popular media – film clips, hip-hop music, comedy skits. But the pop culture stuff isn’t just for fun.

“My thing is to get them to think critically,” he said.

Joe Floyd, a UW Tacoma student, is serving as a mentor and tutor for the Men of Distinction this summer. Floyd, a former student of the rigorous International Baccalaureate program at Tacoma’s Foss High School, said he believes he was well-prepared for college. But he meets many students who aren’t.

“College requires so much writing,” he said. “A lot of students are unprepared for college because the teachers just push them on.”

He’s working one-on-one with Men of Distinction students to try to rectify that.

Davis welcomes the help. During a recent class, he talked to students about how the pace of the course would increase as the summer wears on.

“We started slow,” he said during a recent class. “But next week, it’s going to hit. You need to focus. Patience and persistence will keep you going.”

Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635 debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com

Gap report

A new report from Washington Kids Count, which tracks data about kids in our state, offers some statistics that relate to how well minority and other students connect with school. The numbers are based on statewide student surveys and other sources of information.

According to the report, “Academic Engagement for Academic Success”:

 • A higher proportion of black, Latino, Native Hawaiian, and American Indian students (40 percent) report that their grades last year were mostly C’s or lower. That compared with white students (29 percent) and Asian students (14 percent).

 • Black and American Indian students report that they were significantly more likely to skip school as compared to white students. Latino and Native Hawaiian students said they were less likely to skip school.

 • Children in immigrant families see greater purpose in what they learn in school. Two-thirds of students who speak a language other than English at home reported that learning is important for the future, compared with about half of students who speak English at home.

 • A lower percentage of black students (58 percent) and American Indian students (67 percent) said their parents would catch them if they skip school, as compared with students from other backgrounds (74 percent).

Source: Washington Kids Count, University of Washington Human Services Policy Center