These days, the road to becoming a man is fraught with peril. Throughout our nation:
- Boys are suspended at roughly twice the rate of girls.
- Two-thirds of the D’s and F’s given out in school go to boys.
- Boys are one-third more likely to drop out before finishing high school.
- African-American males are particularly vulnerable; one in five receives out-of-school suspension compared with one in ten white males.
These are just a handful of the somber statistics when it comes to boys and education. So, why a newsletter devoted to boys? It’s a good reminder to keep our eyes and hearts open to boys so that we can close the achievement gaps that exist. At CIS, we believe that when we take time to reflect on boys we all benefit.
For example, when reviewing the CIS After School Program data from 2012-13 and 2013-14, we noticed a trend that female participants outnumbered their male counterparts. To meet the needs of boys, we must connect with them. By setting goals of enrolling more boys to reflect the overall population of the school and offering services directed at their interests, we have made significant progress in engaging young male students. In the 2014-15 school year, a majority of the CIS After School Programs have met their goals in increasing male students. There is still more work to be done, but CIS will continue to look at ways to make a difference for boys including engaging our community to join with us.
Thank you for showing you care for all kids by supporting CIS with your time, talent, and resources.
Read more in our in our newsletter, CIS Connections: Why Boys?
“A chance to give back to peers and community” is one of Communities In Schools’ Five Basics. That is what these young men from Loy Norrix High School did. Together, they helped to distribute over 300 Thanksgiving meals to community family members as part of the Community Feast at Parkwood-Upjohn Elementary School. This event is held in partnership with New World Flood. Pictured from left to right: CIS Success Coach O’Neal Ollie, Loy Norrix students: DeAndre Buchanan, Xavier Gillon and Quay Evans & CIS Site Coordinator Montrell Baker.
Tags: Boys, CIS Connections, Newsletter
