ARTICLE REPRINT. This article first appeared in the 2009 Edition of the Parents League Review

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ARTICLE REPRINT

This article first appeared in the 2009 Edition of the Parents League Review.

IN OUR SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS, DIVERSITY, AND THE AGE OF OBAMA

Independent Schools, Diversity, and the Age of Obama by Aileen C. Hefferren, Prep for Prep It’s important that stories like mine aren’t used to say that everything is O.K. for blacks. You have to remember that for every one of me, there are hundreds or thousands of black students with at least equal talent who don’t get a chance. – Barack Obama1 Even for veteran observers of the New York independent school scene, the May 9, 2008 Smart Connections conference was an eye-opening experience. Hosted by Prep for Prep, the 30-year old leadership development nonprofit that identifies talented students of color in New York’s public schools and prepares them for placement in independent schools, the meeting brought together 200 nonprofit executives, administrators, and social entrepreneurs from across the country and around the world. They shared ideas on improving and growing their various education and diversity initiatives, a number of which work with leading New York City independent schools as well as the country’s top boarding schools. It was not long ago that the leaders of such organizations could have met comfortably around a small conference table. In 1957 the Boys Club of New York established the nation’s first Independent School Placement program. A Better Chance, aimed specifically at young people of color, followed soon thereafter. Prep for Prep joined their ranks in 1978. It was not until the 1980's, however, that the number of nonprofits devoted to diversity in education and leadership development began to boom. Organizations like the Albert G. Oliver Program and Early Steps, whose missions are described below, began. The TEAK Fellowship opened its doors in 1998. For such organizations, each committed to creating greater access to New York’s independent schools for children of color and low-income 1. 28-year old Barack Obama, quoted in The New York Times on February 6, 1990, when he became the first African-American elected to head the Harvard Law Review.

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students, the Smart Connections conference represented less a coming-out than a coming-of-age. Collectively, tens of thousands of students of color have now passed through these programs, taking advantage of opportunities they might otherwise have been denied, and using them as a springboard to elite colleges and universities and prominent positions in education, medicine, law, business and government. The conference was set against a backdrop of remarkable events that the founders of Prep for Prep and similar programs might not have dared even to dream possible a generation or two earlier: David Paterson had just taken the reins of state government as New York’s first African-Ameri- The symbolic value can governor, and Massachusetts of political leadership Governor Deval Patrick, an alumnus of A Better Chance, addressed is important, but it is the conference as keynote speaker. far removed from the Most significantly, Barack Obama had all but completed his historic broader leadership that campaign to claim the Democratic shapes one’s daily life. Party’s nomination for President, placing him one step from shattering what Hugh B. Price, the former President and CEO of the Urban League, described as “the loftiest glass ceiling in American society.” Curiously, these developments were barely remarked upon by anyone at the Smart Connections conference. None of the assembled educators and nonprofit executives seemed ready to declare victory and quit the field. But the question can fairly be asked: What is the role of organizations committed to diversity and minority leadership development in an era that produces an Obama? Personally, I believe that while the symbolic importance of iconic leaders like Barack Obama should not be underestimated, neither should it be overstated. The symbolic value of political leadership is important, but it is far removed from the broader leadership that shapes one’s daily life – the editor of your local paper, the head of your hospital, the CEO of your company. That kind of widespread leadership is still very much missing in America, and its absence will continue to inform and energize our collective efforts for years to come.

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Building a Diverse Leadership Pipeline The opening speaker at the conference, Ford Foundation President Luis Ubiñas, noted that by opening the doors of selective schools to children of color, nonprofits have blazed a trail for future Obamas. “Could it possibly be that save for these programs, the immense potential represented by these children would have been put at risk? These children, who are among the best minds we have, who have the potential to shape our country?” Ubiñas wondered aloud. “This is not a theoretical idea. One of these children is Barack Obama. He literally would not have gone to college were it not for scholarships, for his being ‘found.’ That’s what Prep for Prep does. It creates people like him.” Indeed, Prep for Prep invests heavily in leadership development and placement opportunities for the students of color it serves. While Barack Obama is not a product of Prep for Prep or A Better Chance, his rise and résumé have served to validate the academic path to leadership that is the common denominator of such programs. Obama’s campaign made much of his Harvard degree and his stint as Editor-in-Chief of its prestigious Law Review. This emphasis on his academic achievement and intelligence was an essential part of Obama’s candidacy. As several political observers noted, by highlighting his academic credentials, Obama’s campaign sought to banish the thought that perhaps he succeeded only because of his race. Creating people like Obama, Patrick, Ubiñas and institutional leaders in myriad fields, however, was almost certainly more than the founders of Prep for Prep and A Better Chance could have dared to hope for in the turbulent years of the 1960's and 1970's, when they began identifying the best and brightest children of color in overlooked corners of the public school system, and opening access for them at leading independent schools. As recently as 1981, the summer before he left the South Bronx to enter Harvard as a freshman, Ubiñas worked as an advisor to some of Prep for Prep’s earliest students. As he recalls, merely gaining access to selective schools was an accomplishment for gifted children of color. “I saw these incredibly brilliant, hard-working, and respectful children,” Ubiñas recalls. “The normal kid was spectacular. And they would look at me, and they would say, ‘You know, you come from a place that’s as bad or worse than the place I come from. Yet soon, you start at Harvard.’ And they would implicitly ask, ‘Is that possible for me?’ That’s a magical • 110 •

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question. Is it possible for me to go to such a great institution? I think that question is now answered.” Bruce Breimer, the Principal Emeritus of the Collegiate School, agrees. “We’re way beyond any sense that this is even innovative any more,” notes Breimer, who has worked with Prep for Prep for decades. “You simply take it for granted. There’s no friction about it.” The fact that so many programs have appeared nationwide that partner with independent and boarding schools to increase the enrollment of children of color “proves that the validity of these organizations is way beyond question,” he concludes. Leaders in the City’s independent schools agree that the role of organizations that promote diversity in their schools is evolving, and their relationships with such programs are becoming more nuanced. In their earliest iterations, support for such initiatives was sometimes driven by a sense of “noblesse oblige,” according to Poly Prep "High achieving lower-income Headmaster David B. Harman, who sees it as students enter what we call the a testament to the pro- ‘achievement trap’ – educators, grams’ success that dipolicymakers, and the public versity today is viewed as a critical component assume they can fend for of a first-rate educathemselves when the facts tion. “I think mixing kids up, literally, and show otherwise.” having students learn to not only tolerate but respect, admire, and emulate qualities of difference, of otherness – cultural and religious – is the most essential part of their education,” observes Harman. Others note that organizations like ABC, Prep for Prep, Oliver Scholars, and TEAK have ceased to function as mere admissions pipelines. “I had the feeling a few years ago that as an administrator in an independent school, I was in some way a consumer of a service that these organizations offered,” notes Dominic Randolph, who served as Assistant Headmaster at The Lawrenceville School prior to being named the headmaster of Riverdale Country School in 2007. “Now there’s much more back and forth. I feel we’re more partners rather than my just

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looking to find students that are suitable from different backgrounds to come to a place like this.” “When I first started as a teacher over 20 years ago [these programs] fulfilled a need for racial and economic diversity” notes Lori Redell, who oversees admissions at Poly Prep. “That’s changed. Prep for Prep, ABC, TEAK, and Oliver provide us with students who are at the top of their game, who want to work hard and have those kinds of experiences, and want to contribute to the school,” she notes. “They’re the academic and leadership cream of the crop. That’s our motivation today.” The Shifting Scene The education scene outside of New York’s independent schools has also undergone enormous and wrenching change. Under New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, public schools from which Prep for Prep, ABC, and others recruit students have won praise from some education reformers. Dynamic charter schools such as KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) and Achievement First, which didn’t exist 30 years ago, have garnered national attention for boosting test scores in the City’s most economically deprived communities. Education has proven to be the leading career choice of Prep for Prep alumni, with the New York City Department of Education among their top employer. Families of high-achieving students of color have more educational options today than at any time in the City’s history. This has not led, however, to a slackening in the demand for the services of Prep for Prep and other nonprofits. Public schools may be getting better “but that improvement is relative. They’re still not great at turning out kids in droves to go to the top colleges,” observes Chantal Stevens, Director of the College Preparatory Schools Program at A Better Chance. “Under No Child Left Behind, schools are mandated to meet certain expectations, but too often they’re teaching to the test, or just getting to the next benchmark. We serve those kids whose academic needs aren’t being met. If there are kids in local public schools who are clearly capable of doing work further advanced than their schools could possibly offer, don’t we have an obligation to ensure that these students are given access to the opportunities that would allow them to soar?” Independent research tends to bolster Stevens’s belief that the kinds of students served by Prep for Prep and similar programs are often neglected • 112 •

IN OUR SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS, DIVERSITY, AND THE AGE OF OBAMA

in public schools. A 2007 study by the Virginia-based Jack Kent Cooke Foundation found that high-achieving, low-income students lose more ground educationally and excel less frequently than their higher-income peers. “[T]hese remarkable young people are hidden from public view and absent from public policy debates,” the study concluded. “Instead of being recognized for their excellence and encouraged to strengthen their achievement, high achieving lower-income students enter what we call the ‘achievement trap’ – educators, policymakers, and the public assume they can fend for themselves when the facts show otherwise.” Alumni of the programs agree. “Prep for Prep exposed me to academic and professional opportunities beyond my greatest expectations and gave me the discipline, maturity, and self-discipline I needed to capitalize on them,” says Francis Idehen, who graduated from Yale and earned his MBA at Harvard before going to work for Lehman Brothers and, later, Intel. Mission Not Accomplished In the memorable phrase of Leon Wieseltier of The New Republic, “Barack Obama is not the seed but the flower of the civil rights movement.” Products of the heyday of that movement, Prep for Prep, A Better Chance and organizations with similar missions are enjoying the fruits Diversity is not merely of their labors as well. As Bruce Breimer points out, the argument a moral imperative, for diversity within New York City’s but an economic one independent schools no longer needs to be made. Indeed, with words like for which the United inclusion, equity, and justice appear- States is not prepared. ing more prominently in schools’ mission statements, administrators at New York’s leading schools have begun to reframe their involvement with the programs. Noblesse oblige, spoken or unspoken, is no longer part of the equation. “There’s actually a strong educational argument that you will have better critical thinkers, better prepared people for living and collaborating in teams later on in their lives,” says Riverdale’s Randolph. “A more diverse school is simply a better learning environment.” Breimer cautions, however, that the unquestioned acceptance of diversity initiatives within independent schools does not mean there is not more • 113 •

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work to be done – both in schools and in society. Drawing a distinction between “diversity” and “inclusivity,” he notes that at some schools and colleges “there is an illusion of diversity. If different groups of students don’t interact with each other, they’re not benefitting from diversity.” Nonprofits like Prep for Prep, Breimer says, can help build bridges between students of color and others, helping schools foster a more inclusive culture. Ultimately, demographics is destiny. The work done to prepare promising young people of color for educational opportunities and leadership positions occurs at a time of seismic shifts in the composition of American society. U.S. census figures indicate that Americans who identify themselves as Hispanic, black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander will together outnumber non-Hispanic whites by 2042. “Talent is found everywhere and for society to succeed we need every bit of that talent. Unfortunately, far too many young people are not being educated to make the best use of their substantial abilities,” observes Stephanie Bell-Rose, President of The Goldman Sachs Foundation, a major supporter of the Smart Connections conference. “That’s why outstanding nonprofits like Prep for Prep that show tremendous success in helping young people reach their potential are so important.” At the Smart Connections conference last May, Ford Foundation President Luis Ubiñas reminded the assembled educators and nonprofit executives of the coming demographic tipping point, noting that diversity is not merely a moral imperative, but an economic one for which the United States is not prepared. “We have a true crisis in educational attainment. The country simply can’t afford this level of disinvestment in its future productive capacity,” Ubiñas remarked. “If the brightest children in the South Bronx or Brooklyn can’t find a path to success, if they can’t make it out, what does that communicate to their peers? To their communities? If the country can’t take advantage of the immense potential imbedded in these truly gifted children, then what’s our hope for the future? As I ask my sons, ‘Who is going to run the place?’” Aileen C. Hefferren is the Chief Executive of Prep for Prep in New York City.

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Organizations Placing Students of Color and Low-Income Students in New York’s Independent Schools A Better Chance, www.abetterchance.org, founded 1963 A Better Chance’s mission is to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. It is the oldest, largest, and only national organization of its kind. Through its College Preparatory Schools Program, A Better Chance identifies, refers and places students at the nation’s most rigorous college preparatory schools. Since 1963, the A Better Chance program has grown from 55 students at nine schools to 1,800 students at over 300 schools. A Better Chance has nearly 12,000 alumni successfully employed in virtually every industry and profession. The Albert G. Oliver Program, www.theoliverprogram.org, founded 1984 The Albert G. Oliver Program cultivates new generations of leaders by providing exceptional African American and Latino youth from New York City access to selective boarding and day schools and continued support for achieving their future academic and professional goals. Students in The Oliver Program receive comprehensive and individualized support services throughout the junior high and high school years – services that bolster students’ academic, civic, emotional, and socio-cultural capacities and help pave the path to the achievement of academic and professional goals. Since The Oliver Program’s inception, nearly 97 percent of Oliver Scholars have enrolled in college, 35 percent of whom have matriculated to Ivy League universities. The Boys’ Club of New York , www.bcny.org, founded 1876 The Boys’ Club of New York has been at the vanguard of youth development for over 130 years and serves nearly 5,000 children. Established in 1957, the Independent School Placement Program is the nation’s oldest. To date, the program has successfully graduated over 1,500 boys with a retention rate well over 90 percent. The program monitors student progress, conducts school visits, and offers workshops. The college placement rate stands at 100 percent. Other programming includes: Early ISP Prep for rising 5th graders; Academic All-Stars (basketball and baseball); Independent Boarding School Fair; and a Parent Advisory Board. • 115 •

IN OUR SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS, DIVERSITY, AND THE AGE OF OBAMA

Early Steps, www.earlysteps.org, founded 1986 EARLY STEPS’ mission is to promote racial diversity in New York City independent schools. The organization accomplishes this by increasing the enrollment of children of color beginning at the kindergarten and first grade levels. Since 1986, EARLY STEPS has worked with families and its 46 member independent school partners to place over 2,000 children of Black, Latino, American Indian and Asian backgrounds in kindergarten and first grade. Prep for Prep, www.prepforprep.org, founded 1978 Prep for Prep is a long-term investment strategy to develop the leadership potential of able young people from segments of society grossly underrepresented in the leadership pool from which all of our major institutions draw. By expanding the nation’s leadership resources, we aim to impact indirectly on a set of inter-related problems that threaten to rend our society. Prep for Prep’s strategy is to identify talented students of color from New York City public schools, prepare them for placement in independent schools, and provide a sense of community, peer support, critical postplacement services, and a range of leadership development opportunities. The Prep for Prep Community includes over 3,500 students and alumni. More than 40 percent of Prep for Prep alumni attend or have graduated from Ivy League colleges and universities; 92 percent attend or have graduated from colleges ranked as “highly competitive” or “most competitive” by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges. The TEAK Fellowship, www.teakfellowship.org, founded 1998 The TEAK Fellowship helps talented New York City students from low-income families gain admission to and succeed at top high schools and colleges. Along with academic support, TEAK provides leadership training, exposure to the arts and outdoors, mentorship, career experience, and assistance with the high school and college application processes. TEAK Fellows build the academic, cultural, and social foundations to become well-rounded leaders of their communities and society at large. TEAK is race- and gender-blind, basing admission on academic merit and family income. The program serves six classes of Fellows each year (130-150 students).

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