Louisville Tries Different Course to Close Black Male Achievement Gap

In an effort to improve academic achievement among African Americans, a Kentucky school board has approved the creation of an academy tailored to Black male students in Louisville.

The Jefferson County board voted 6-1 to create the Academy that will be housed in the county. Jefferson County is the largest district within the state and has around 100,000 students of which roughly 17,500 are African American, according to the U.S. Census.

The program will be modeled after the Carter G. Woodson Academy, located in nearby Lexington. Utilizing an Afrocentric curriculum to educate students about African American history and culture, Woodson Academy launched in 2012 at Crawford Middle School and offered students a curriculum that also involved culturally responsive teaching and learning tactics. Woodson had its first graduates in spring of 2016 with a total of 15 seniors.

The proposal for the Jefferson County “males of color” academy began with school administrators and community leaders wanting to create a similar academy to Woodson, which they say will address the historic and persistent achievement gap.

“The academy is part of a larger strategy to address the achievement gap, to increase student achievement and engagement,” said Dr. Marty Pollio, acting superintendent for the Jefferson County Public Schools.

The program, which will be called the W.E.B. Du Bois Academy, is scheduled to be located within one of the county’s elementary schools and will enroll 150 sixth grade males during the 2018-2019 school year.

The district will spend about $5.8 million to run the academy for its first three years. Depending on the outcomes over the course of the first couple of years, the academy may expand the number of students allowed in the school.