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While studies—and for a panel of educators, years of personal observations—indicate that African American students tend to face more struggles in school than other racial groups, some educators say creating an intentional system of support for Black students could help increase their chances for academic success.

That support system could take a variety of forms and include an array of services, such as mentors, equitable distribution of resources, cultural awareness on the part of teachers, courses that address soft skills and financial literacy, and mental health counseling.

“What I’m hearing and what I have lived, is (the importance of) allowing students to see the possibilities and investing,” in them, said Bennetta Horne, assistant dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, and the director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Tulane University. “I tell my students all the time … I’m just the ‘You can do it, person.’”

Horne was part of a five-person panel of educators who shared their insights on how to impact the success of Black students in the New Orleans area. The panel, held Feb. 8, was titled, “Supporting Black Students in New Orleans: Perspectives of Educational Leaders.”

It was part of the School of Education’s spring 2023 Speaker Series and was co-sponsored by DEI@UNO in connection with Black History Month.

The discussion on how best to support Black students spanned the education spectrum, from elementary to enrollment in graduate and professional schools.

In addition to Horne, the panel included: Alice Cryer-Sumler, school counseling and student support specialist in St. Charles Parish; Brittany Smith, principal at Hynes Charter School-UNO; Rolland Bullard, vice president for student success at Dillard University and Sharon Clark, school director at Sophie B. Wright High School in New Orleans.

To affect greater change in student success, schools systems need to create district policies that will address the specific needs of struggling students, Cryer-Sumler said.

“One of the things that we like to say in systems is that ‘They all need it,’” said Cryer-Sumler. “Yes, they all need some parts of it, but if you think about it equitably, there are somethings that some kids need that others do not need.”

The panel also stressed the importance of having diversity of thoughts and voices in the creation of school curriculum and policies.

“There are things that you might not think of and that voice that is missing, would,” Cryer-Sumler said. “But, if they are not there, it’s not going to be said.”

In addition, school administrators need to make sure there is an alignment with other education partners and ensure that parents play an active role in the school’s mission, the educators said.

“We need to find a way to make sure that parents are a part of the system,” said Clark, school director at Sophie B. Wright. “If you just do your part at home and support what the school is trying to do, that’s good; but we’re not going to carry it without them being a part of it.”

Smith, principal at Hynes Charter School-UNO, said creating connections with families and educating students on what is expected of them at each level of their education journey would help in alleviating fears of the unknown. That fear, sometimes, is a hindrance to parental involvement at the school, she said.

It’s important that school officials at every education level are communicating with each other, Smith said.

"Just the alignment of all the different areas of education, from college down to K, so that our kids leave our kindergarten and 8th-grade schools going into high school prepared, and leaving high school prepared,” Smith said.

Early exposure to financial literacy and teaching students how to manage their money could be life changing for them, said Bullard, the Dillard University administrator.

“These are conversations that are very difficult to have if your family doesn’t have these resources,” Bullard said, recalling how he used to think that friends who received allowances “were rich.”