NBCDI Organization

The website I chose to study is the National Black Child Development Institute:

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ )

Brief Description of the NBCDI:

During the time of social reform in America the National Black Child Development Institute was developed. This time was in 1970. During the 1960’s the people of the black community rallied to gain equal rights. The significance of this post, is the great reminder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who helped blacks all over America gain fairness and equal rights. On Monday, we celebrate him, and all the opportunities he gave to the black communities.

This organization was made by the Black Women’s Community Development Foundation whose concerns were the protection and the health of young mothers and babies during this time of social reform. As the Institute was incorporated, groups were organized within communities as a basis to create a better way of life for the Black child who was not old enough to have a voice in this particular issue. This group focused on children from early childhood education to secondary education.

NBCDI’s Mission Statement is “to improve and advance the lives of black children and their families through education and advocacy.” The organization has improved the quality of life for millions of children from providing proper foster care, adequate adoption policies, fairness of healthcare and education bills and funds for College. The NBCDI has changed the lives of many children, and continues to. Support in this organization should not be overlooked and continues to be encouraged.

One issue/trend from the website that caught my attention:

Closing the achievement gap has clearly been one focus of the NBCDI. It is clear that this organization is honest when it says that there is still some work that needs to be done on the national level to close the achievement gap. The states that have mastered at doing this are Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Texas. There are still a lot more states that need to get on board with doing so. These states can share their methods of investing time and money into childcare and education, as well as, the preparation for reading and math. Another bit of good news, is the performance of low income students in 2011. These students have performed better compared to other years. Since 2009, there have been no changes in the fourth grade reading scores and there is a twenty-five point score gap between Black and White students. Only fourteen percent of black students scored proficient, as fifty percent scored below grade level. At the advanced levels only two percent of black students scored at this level, as eleven percent of white students scored at advanced level. Thirty-three percent of white students scored proficient on the fourth grade reading test and only twenty-two (compared to black students fifty percent) scored below grade level.

What I learned from this posting by the NCBDI:

I learned that despite in a couple of categories the scores are fairly equal, on a national level we still have a long way to go to close the achievement gap. This unfortunately means it still can take decades. I think as an educator it is important to find the reasons for these unfortunate differences in test scores. As a reading teacher, reading is extremely important and must be done at home, as well as in school. Monitoring this can be difficult for the teacher, but the teacher could make it easier by monitoring this through parent/guardian communication and comprehensive worksheets or reader response journals. Also, I would be eager to learn how the states that were successful implemented their reading program and successfully closed the achievement gap.