Office of Black Male Achievement Has Failed In the Course of Five Years of Existence to Produce Academically Achieving Black Males

I am in the process of disaggregating the data for African American students at the Minneapolis Public Schools by gender.  Consider, in the meantime, the data for all African American students in the district: 

 

MPS Academic Proficiency Rates for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, & 2018

 

Math                     2014       2015       2016      2017      2018

 

African                  23%       19%         19%      16%       17%

American

 

 Reading               2014       2015       2016      2017      2018

 

African                  22%       21%         21%      21%       21%

American

 

Science               2014       2015       2016      2017      2018

 

African                 11%       15%         13%      11%       10%

American

 

This abysmal record has actually gotten worse during the years since August 2014 in which the Office of Black Male Achievement (OMBA) was founded under the leadership of OMBA Director Michael Walker.

 

Walker and Corey Yeager receive annual salaries totaling $222,822.  There are five other staff members  in the Office of Black Male Achievement who receive annual salaries averaging $65,000 each, for another $325,000, in all equaling $547,822 for salaries alone. 

Perpend:

 

Michael Walker                             $133,137

Director

 

Corey Yeager                                     $89,685

Coordinator,

Educational Equity

                                                        $222,822

 

 

Other staff members in the Office of Black Male Achievement are as follows:

 

Andrea Daniel                  

Family and Community

Inclusion Specialist

 

Cirerra Burnaugh

Office Specialist, Senior

 

Marjaan Sirdar

Teacher,

Social Studies

Richard Magembe

Teacher,

Social Studies

 

Jamil Jackson

Community Expert

Classroom Coach

 

A brochure from the Office of Black Male Achievement makes the following paltry claims:

 

Graduation rates for those students participating in the classes and program of the Office of Black Male Achievement versus nonparticipants  >>>>>    54% versus 47%

 

Minneapolis Public Schools staff members undergoing professional development at the behest of the

Office of Black Male Achievement          >>>>>    1,200

 

Number of MPS schools that have featured professional development at the behest of the

Office of Black Male Achievement          >>>>>       14

 

The brochure also gives demographics for student participants as 76% receiving free/reduced price lunch;  27% receiving special education services;  and 8% categorized as Homeless/ Highly Mobile.

 

…………………………………………………………………………………..

 

But for all of this flaccid attempt to scrape up a few justifications for the existence of this ineffective department, the reality is that

 

>>>>>    the Office of Black Male Achievement serves just 583 of the total 7,000 or so African American males enrolled in the Minneapolis Public Schools;

 

>>>>>    OBMA Director Michael Walker’s salary has risen from approximately $114,000 in academic year 2014-2015 to $128,000 by 2018-2019 and now stands at $133,000 for 2019-2020.

 

This office continues to exist only because to dismantle OBMA would be politically unpopular and Superintendent Ed Graff does not have the courage to take the necessary action.