Could a “holistic approach” be the key to accelerating the success of black students in Tennessee?

Tennessee’s black male students statistically lag other demographics in enrolling, persisting, and completing post-secondary education.The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) held a panel Wednesday to discuss how to reverse that as part of its SCORE Institute informational series on preparing students for Tennessee careers.“This SCORE Institute, and many of you have been here through kind of the series of SCORE Institutes, but this one in particular is focused on Black male success. And that’s not to say that there’s not room for improvement in serving all students well, but the data for Black males in particular is alarming,” said SCORE Vice President of Strategy Mary Cypress Metz.A lack of hope is considered to be one of the contributing factors in addition to economic disadvantages that impact black male students.One Million Degrees CEO Aneesh Sohoni said this is one of the things his nonprofit focuses on when helping students. The holistic approach of Chicago-based nonprofit formed the theme of much of the panel’s discussion.“What we find in our black men is that there is a sense of hopelessness that they have that’s at a level higher than some of their peers and other students. And so really what we try to do is instill that hope,” said Sohoni.This resonated with Tennessee State Board of Education Vice Chair Darrell Cobbins who was a panel member. Cobbins says he was one of those young black men who struggled during his college years.“In life we all deserve to have a North Star. But what’s important in context to that North Star is where we see ourselves in this society, where we see ourselves in this world and how we view that entire context. So, I think particularly as it relates to black males Aneesh referenced some of the sense of hopelessness that exist in some black males,” said Cobbins. “When I think back to my college years, my mom worked in the hospitality industry. And where were some semesters that I couldn’t get my books maybe a month into the semester, until she got paid. And that was no reflection on the college or the university, but that was just the situation. And no one knew, I didn’t go tell anybody, but those situations could make or break an entire semester or whether a student goes forward or not.”Black males are less academically prepared across grade levels, with third grade reading rates lower and seventh grade math proficiency being a third lower than their White peers. Economic return rates for Black male students are also lower.College-going rates for Black males have decreased over the years as well. Currently, the rates are ten percentage points below the rates in 2018.One Million Degree’s model combines different things like mentoring and financial development to increase the likelihood that scholars will complete a college credential and improve economic mobility.“Our mission is to support community college students and we’re one of the few non-profits in the country that focus exclusively on community college students. There’s a lot of focus on four-year pathways which is certainly also necessary, but our community colleges are such critical institutions. We focus on community colleges because we believe they are an engine for upward economic mobility for students all across the country, including here in Tennessee,” said Sohoni.The holistic approach was one part of the big picture. Panelist Marie Webb of EPB of Chattanooga said that employers in the workplace need to change their mindset.“I think employers have to accept that it’s going to be a journey and sometimes, especially historically we’re focused on meritocracy and seniority and some of those other concepts, but the reality is that’s not going to be effective to breakthrough to a new generation of workers. Particularly black males who have such a unique experience. And so, employers have to be prepared to look at themselves and say, ‘what can we do better if we want to tap and access this talent,’” said Webb.Webb also said that building resilience and exposing black men to support networks, high bars, and diverse figures and peers contribute to gaining success.“I think that hope is transferrable and so if we can instill hope in these young African American males to persist through to the other side, then that hope as you saw in the video, goes to siblings, it goes to other relatives and it’s transferable and allows us to try to break the cycle,” said Cobbins.