Associated to Close the Literacy Divide organized to shut down the schools to prison pipeline and close the debilitating literacy divide in Detroit. The Reginald Francis Lewis Foundation in New York provided the seed capital for us to convene a summer reading academy for 11 high school students at the University of Michigan, August of 2011. Our goal was to stem the learning loss that disproportionately afflicts Black males residing in urban settings. We were guided by research that proves the highest predictor of an at-risk black male going from high school to prison is the amount of contact he has with the courts and the criminal justice system. We assembled an at-risk group of 15-17 year old Black males to demonstrate that if frequent contact with the courts or juvenile justice is replaced by visits and extended stays at institutes of higher learning, a rigorous reading curriculum at the University of Michigan would become the highest/greatest predictor of these students graduating from a Detroit Public High School and matriculating as a scholar at a college or university. Instead of roaming Detroit’s dangerous streets jobless these boys studied hard 7 hours daily. They read out loud to each other two voluminous, college level, non-fiction texts. "Why should white guys have all the fun?" is the compelling journey of how Reginald Francis Lewis became the first at risk single parented urban breed black male to create a Billion Dollar Business Empire. This instilled our students with the confidence to aspire for greatness and know that whatever man has done - another, any other man can do. They also learned that the White Guys who have all the fun - do so because of their skill and practice of analytical reading. "How To Read A Book" by Mortimer J. Adler details the secrets of effective reading. The pilot program was August 2011. The results can be determined by consultation with our Scholars, their teachers and their parents. We are engaging our young men on a bi-weekly basis throughout the school year to monitor outcomes. We hope that BME will do the same and support our efforts to expand our reach to many more disadvantaged youth. Brook Byron Ellis - Project Manager Reginald Francis Lewis Summer Reading Academy Detroit - 2011
Detroit’s “school-to-prison pipeline” is heavily populated with 9th-12th grade Black males from single parent households. Two young men, whose fathers were incarcerated while they attended high school, credit reading “Why should white guys have all the fun?”, - the Reginald F. Lewis biography (RFLB), as the inspiration for their exemplary academic and career accomplishments. The opportunity is to apply their model to a cohort in a high school located in Detroit’s notorious “48205” and transform this “poverty trap/homicide hot spot” into a learning, discovery and academic achievement zone.
Reginald Francis Lewis Reading Academy (RFLRA) will partner with Osborn High School (OHS) to produce 30 scholars with the mental capacity to merit admission to “Elite Universities” without a relaxed standard and the civic pride requisite to reclaim their streets. January, 2012, every OHS student (300) will receive copies of the RFLB. Their parents will be visited by the Project Manager (PM), and sign a household literacy and civic responsibility pledge. Each OHS family will be educated on the rituals that enabled RFL to propel himself from Baltimore’s most notorious zip code to Master of America’s first Black owned Billion Dollar Business Enterprise. The OHS boys will be competing for 30 slots in the RFL Summer Reading Academy. The bar is a 3.75 GPA and a qualifying essay. The winners will spend the summer studying in a rigorous 7 week college readiness program. 4 weeks at MSU’s nationally acclaimed “HS Summer Scholars Program” and 3 weeks at U-M for the 2nd installment of the RFLRA. A “Literacy Mentor” will read the RFLB out loud with OHS students 6 hours daily, 6 days a week, during the school year. The PM serves on site, 24/7, monitoring the summer session. The U-M curriculum is being perfected by the educators heralded for arguing both sides of the “Affirmative Action in admissions to U-M’s Graduate Schools Debate.”
Put 30 OHS boys on track to graduate from elite universities. Help transform 48205 from a virtual killing zone into a literacy and academic achievement oasis. Change the expectations and culture at OHS and thus alter the youthful ethos within this community. Account for positive movement regarding all metrics used to define quality of life in a Detroit residential area. Establish an indestructible foundation for a “School-to-Master of the Universe-Pipeline.” A pipeline calibrated for exponential growth annually and sustained by the ingenuity of its students.
up to $50,000
Brook Byron Ellis – Project Manager Mrs. Loida Nicolas Lewis – Attorney, Philanthropist & Wife of Reginald Francis Lewis
OHS Principal, Tanya F. Bowman, Ed.S., has agreed to partner with RFLRA to provide 48205 students and residents with a safe haven to achieve academic excellence. She authorized the use of her facility for this laudable experiment. She is challenging 300 “48205” households to promote literacy at home. As Associate Dean in the Department of Urban Education at Michigan State University, Dr. Sonya Gunnings-Moton leads the nations’ preeminent Institute for training urban educators. Her team will supervise the 30 OHS students during their 4 week MSU tour. Lester P. Monts, Ph.D., Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan endorsed the RFLRA Pilot this summer and has committed the resources of his office to expanding our initiative for summer 2012. Marion Brown, Outreach Director for U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Zenobia Awada, Youth Engagement Coordinator for Mayor Dave Bing, and Quan Tez Pressley, Community Programs for City Council President Charles Pugh are indefatigable advocates and using their platforms to secure community buy in.