Five months ago, Dr. Lester Young presented the Education and Higher Education cluster's recommendations for addressing and turning around the dismal academic standing of Black students in New York City public schools, at the 2006 Black Brooklyn Empowerment Convention. Several cluster meetings following the June 17 convention, held at Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Bedford-Stuyvesant, which addressed eight other issues important to the African-American community. Dr. Young's team decided that one of the first activities they would move on would be the establishment of an independent institute focused on research development and the education of children of African descent.

On September 28, the cluster held a grand opening to announce the Adelaide L. Sanford Institute for Research, Development, and the Education of Students of African Descent. Their first series of free Saturday seminars, which was devoted to student development, took place from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Medgar Evers College, on October 21, October, 28, and November 4.

"(The attendance) exceeded our expectations," said Dr. Young, who is the cluster's co-chair along with Dean Richard Jones. "Parents, teachers and school principals, among others, gave up their Saturday mornings and stayed for the entire three hours."

Dr. Young said each series has its own topic. On October 21, he covered the development of non-cognitive variables and their relationship to academic success. The October 24 meeting focused on understanding young people who are going through adolescence while at the same time understanding what it means to be Black in America.

Finally, on November 4, he delved into adult attitudes and beliefs and their influence on student motivation and academic success.

The next Saturday seminar series, which will focus on all aspects of the social studies curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade, runs December 2 through December 16.

According to Dr. Young, the objective of this content focus is to bring about the cultural relevancy perspective. "We want to help teachers as well as others understand the importance of including culture into what is taught in the social studies curriculum."

In addition to going through the curriculum, Dr. Young said the seminar series will help teachers prepare high school students to pass the Regents exams as well as to assist them in understanding how to conduct the exit project component.

In January, the seminar series will focus on math and science, especially because the New York state math exam will be administered in March.

The institute plans to hold community forums next year as part of their agenda. "We want to give the community the opportunity, for example, to voice whether the schools are better now under mayoral control," Dr. Young said. "This issue of governance control comes back up in 2009. The last time it came up people were so dissatisfied with New York Public Schools that they decided to try something different."

Dr. Young said when the Education and Higher Education cluster meets on December 7, they will have a discussion on the institute holding an education conference with a possible focus on saving the African-American child.

Another area of which the institute is dedicated to addressing is college preparation. They recently held a college information session at Benjamin Banneker High School, which was standing-room only.

"So many of our high school students aren't getting the information about college," Dr. Young shared. Issues discussed included how to position themselves so that they know what's available, preparing them so that they can be accepted into their chosen college, getting the money to attend school, and the types of behaviors they must possess to be successful when they get to college.

The bottom line, said Dr. Young, is that the institute is here to provide the students and all who come into contact with them with the tools to help them excel in their academics and in life. He encourages anyone interested in being a part of this empowerment move to get involved.

To attend the Saturday seminar series, pre register by emailing the institute at blackbrooklynempowerment@yahoo.com or by calling the convention hotline at 718-228-6433. For event updates, visit www.blackbrooklynempowermentconvention.com.