No Child Left Behind?! - The Achievement Gap is Still Creating Holes in Education

Check out THIS NY Times article that reveals that the achievement gap between black & white students is still a significant problem. A recent study resulted in the following startling findings:

Only 12 percent of black fourth-grade boys are proficient in reading, compared with 38 percent of white boys

Only 12 percent of black eighth-grade boys are proficient in math, compared with 44 percent of white boys.

Poor white boys do just as well as African-American boys who do not live in poverty

In high school, African-American boys drop out at nearly twice the rate of white boys, and their SAT scores are on average 104 points lower.

Math scores in 2009 for black boys were not much different than those for black girls in Grades 4 and 8, but black boys lagged behind Hispanics of both sexes, and they fell behind white boys by at least 30 points, a gap sometimes interpreted as three academic grades.

Shifting the Paradigm: Jay-Z is the Top Business Role Model for our Youth?

Check out Dr. Boyce Watkins interesting "Atlanta Post" article that discusses the need for business role models for today's black youth below. Dr. Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the initiator of the National Conversation on Race:




"Jay-Z is an amazing rapper. Some think that he’s been in the game for a bit too long, but I don’t agree. Personally, I think “Jigga” simply reflects the fact that hip-hop itself is aging. Jazz was once solely the domain of rebellious teenagers, but now you’re sure to hear it playing in every old folk’s home across America. The same is going to be true for hip-hop.

Jay-Z has said repeatedly that he will stop making music, and I’m sure that one day he will. However, there is one area in which we need to retire Jay-Z: In his role as the pre-eminent black businessman in America. It’s not that Jay-Z is a bad role model, it’s just that he’s been exhausted.

Don’t get me wrong, Jigga has made significant amounts of money by busting rhymes on his left and selling clothes on his right. Good for him. But is he really the best business role model for young black males, who are already consumed with a culture that teaches them that all they can be are rappers or athletes? No, he is not. Young black women also find that their leading role models in business are women like Oprah and Beyonce, both of whom keep us hyper-fixated on the entertainment industry. It’s time to make a change.

When our kids are looking for business role models, why not consider people like Dr. Randal Pinkett (The Apprentice), Ursula Burns (CEO of Xerox), Ken Chenault (CEO of American Express), or Chuck Creekmur (founder of AllHipHop.com). These individuals are educated self-starters who used a variety of brilliant and creative methods to either get to the top of the corporate ladder or to build their own corporate ladders. Sure, some of them are linked to entertainment, but they are the bosses of the industry and not one of the slaves.

Black males especially would gain from having a new set of role models to encourage us to more effectively target our collective genius. Many of us only dream of throwing footballs and dribbling basketballs, leaving education on the table for others to use against us. Rather than finding the real money and opportunity that comes from being the smartest guy in the room, we are deliberately choosing to be the dumb jock with a fifth grade reading level. This should be unacceptable for us all.

Jay-Z and others like him are tremendous beneficiaries of media. Media tends to focus on the most glamorous and entertaining African Americans, rather than the most impactful. Women like Fantasia were sucked into thinking that the decisions to drop out of school and become a teen parent would all be corrected by one lucky stop at the American Idol audition. Not only did most of us see the destruction of Fantasia’s dream, we also see the millions of other Fantasia wannabes who gave up everything to live the high life of entertainment, but got the welfare office instead.

It’s a new century, so black folks need a new paradigm. The former entertainer or athlete who becomes a successful businessperson is certainly worthy of our respect. But few success stories in black America run through Hollywood, the recording studio or the NBA. Instead, the greatest and most powerful success stories in black America run through the classroom. Let’s make sure our kids don’t forget that."


For the full article, CLICK HERE

Black & Hispanic Youth Consume the MOST media...Now the real question is - What are they watching?

A recent national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the amount of time young people spend with entertainment media has risen dramatically, especially among minority youth. Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.

Furthermore, substantial differences in media consumption emerge between White youth and Black or Hispanic youth, with the latter two groups consuming nearly 4.5 hours more media daily (13:00 of total media exposure for Hispanics, 12:59 for Blacks, and 8:36 for Whites). The difference between White and minority youth is largest for TV: Black youth spend an average of 2:18 more per day with TV than White youth. The only medium where there are no racial or ethnic differences is print.

Study Finds: Today's Youth Prefer "Fame" over "Profession" & Black Children are More Desperate for it

Jake Halpern is an author, journalist, and radio producer. His book, "Fame Junkies" explores the fascinating and often dark implications of America's obsession with fame. As part of his research for the book, Halpern surveyed 650 teenagers in the Rochester, New York area to analyze how teens think about fame. The results produced some alarming findings that reinforce the need for projects like V.I.P.s.

Take a look at some of Halpern's key findings below:

*Forget being President of Harvard – Make me a Celebrity Personal Assistant…

A question asked: “When you grow up, which of the following jobs would you most like to have?” There were five options to chose from and, among girls, the results were as follows: 9.5% chose “the chief of a major company like General Motors”; 9.8% chose “a Navy Seal”; 13.6% chose “a United States Senator”; 23.7% chose “the president of a great university like Harvard or Yale”; and 43.4% chose “the personal assistant to a very famous singer or movie star.”
It’s worth noting: Research psychologists, like Robert Cialdini at Arizona State University, have long suspected that people with low-self esteem are the ones most likely to “bask in the reflected glory” of others. This appears to be true here. For example, among girls who indicated that they received bad grades in school (i.e., C’s or below), the percentage who opted to become assistants rose to 67%. What’s more, among both boys and girls who got bad grades – and who described themselves as being unpopular at school – the percentage who opted to become assistants rose further to 80%.

*Black Kids Are More Desperate for Fame…

African American kids were especially keen on becoming famous. When asked whether they would rather become famous, smarter, stronger, or more beautiful, 42% of them opted for fame whereas only 21% of whites did so. What’s more, almost 44% of African Americans said that their families would love them more if they became famous, while only 27% of white students said so.
It’s Worth Noting: Of course, there are many ways to explain this data, but one factor to be considered is that African American kids often have especially hard childhoods. According to a 2005 article in the New York Times, two-thirds of black children are born out of wedlock and nearly half of those children who live in single-parent households are poor. All of this seems to suggest that hardship may be driving many African American kids to embrace fame as a remedy to their woes.

*Teens who watch TV and read “glam mags” want and expect fame the most…

According to the study, teenagers who regularly watch certain celebrity-focused TV shows – namely Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and Insider – are more likely to believe that they themselves will someday become famous. The same trend appears to be true for those teenagers who read celebrity-focused magazines like US Weekly, Star, People, Teen People, YM and J-14. There is also a strong correlation between how many hours of television that teenagers watch in general and how badly they want to become famous. One of the questions on the survey asked: “If you could push a magic button that would change your life in one way, which of the following would you pick?” The options were (a) becoming smarter, (b) becoming much bigger or stronger, (c) becoming famous, (d) becoming more beautiful, and (e) my life doesn’t need any changing. Among those teens who watched one hour of television a day or less, only 15% of the boys and 17% of the girls opted for fame. But among those teens who watched five hours or more a day – and a good number of them did – 29% of the boys and 37% of the girls opted for fame.

*Heavy TV-watchers are especially likely to believe that fame will improve their lives…

Findings from the survey also suggest that teenagers who watch television frequently are more likely to believe that fame will improve their lives. For example, teens who watch five hours or more of television a day are significantly more likely than those who watch just an hour or less to agree with the statement, “Becoming a celebrity [will] make you happier.” Teens who watch five hours of television or more a day are also twice as likely as those who watch an hour or less to believe that their family will love them more if they become a celebrity.

For more on Halpern's study, please click here.

V.I.P.s Creator Teams w/ Dawn Richards to Create "Danity Kane" Comic Book

Check out this Essence.com article to learn more about V.I.P.s creator & E.P., Natashia McGough's collaboration with Dirty Money band member, Dawn Richards on the "Danity Kane" comic book. For more info on this project, please click here.

The Sound of Music = Success

Research shows that students participating in musical instruction enjoy a number of advantages over their non-musical counterparts, even when overcoming socio-economic obstacles. There is a strong correlation between quality music education in school and academic achievement.

Did you know?

*A study at the University of California showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky, and Wright

*Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among any group in our society. United States Senate June 2000

*Music majors are the most likely group of college grad to be admitted to medical school. Also, a study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors, including English, Biology, Chemistry, and Math. “The Comparative Academic Abilities of Students in Education and in Other Areas of a Multi-focus University,” Peter H. Wood ,The Case for Music in the Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan

*Middle school students and high school students who participated in instrumental music scored significantly higher than their non-band peers in standardized tests. University of Sarasota study, Jeffrey Lynn Kluball

Read on to find out about how a passion for music impacted V.I.P. Zhalisa Clarke's development & kept her out of trouble:




"I started playing violin when I was five. My mom had always wanted to play an instrument, but her mom could never afford it, and back then music scholarships didn't really exist, especially for those that had never played before. So we went to the DC Youth Orchestra, a music program a few blocks from my house, and my mom signed me up for violin. I really wanted to play flute, but they told me my arms were too short. So violin it was. I started with once a week group classes, but that quickly expanded over the years to include private lessons, orchestra rehearsal, music theory classes, composition, improvisation, and a whole lot more. After school everyday, I went to music school. I basically went to 2 schools a day, and had an entirely separate musical life. While my friends in the neighborhood had tons of free time to get into all sorts of trouble, my schedule was back to back with activities that I barely had time to get caught up in nonsense. As I think back to some friends from my neighborhood, one of them was pregnant at 15. Another was in and out of juvie for selling drugs. Between school, rehearsals, and all the extra stuff like homework and practicing, I was too focused to get on those paths. Don't get me wrong, I still had a lot of fun, and played on the playground at recess, etc, but the violin played a crucial role in my life, and I continue to play today."

MEET THE PRODUCERS

While students at the prestigious Spelman College, Natashia & Shelby met while working for the school's newspaper (The Spelman Spotlight). That collaboration planted the seed for a future partnership. Years later, the ladies reunited while both working in Hollywood. Their shared passion and vision caused them to fuse their talents to create V.I.P.s.



NATASHIA MCGOUGH
Creator & Executive Producer

Natashia McGough is a working writer and editor in all facets of the entertainment and literary industry. Natashia's writing credentials were created during the latter part of her grammar school career. Natashia started off as a staff writer for her elementary school's newspaper "The News." She later wrote for the creative publications of her high school's advanced English classes. In college, she had internships with local newspapers and magazines in Houston, TX., Atlanta, GA., and London, England, as well as being the campus and local editor for her college's newspaper, The Spelman Spotlight. Natashia has written several feature screenplays and two TV spec scripts.

She has produced and written her own short films, which have received great recognition as the Organ Mountain Rio Grande film festival's Governor's Hall of Fame winner, Audience Choice Award Winner at the Holly Shorts Film Festival, and Myrtle Beach International film festival's top seven finalist. She has been an apprentice to several professional writers of the industry, as well as worked as an Assistant on several TV shows; such as a TV Series, Night Stalker, produced by ABC/ Touchstone Television, a one hour comedy, The Underground, produced by Showtime and Damon Wayans Productions, and an animated TV series, The Goode Family, produced by ABC Television Network. She has also edited a published self help book by saavy businessman Mike Roberts Sr. and has performed professional ghost-writing for a literary publishing company, Arborbooks. She has ghost-written several authors’ books. She has also written comic strips for local comic magazine Cee Somefun in Atlanta, GA, as well as written a comic book, God Drug, published by Eigomanga Anime Multimedia Company and Devil's Due. She has written, directed, and produced a well received play Shadow Faces, which opened at the Space Theatre in Hollywood, CA on June 16, 2006. She is a native of Houston, Tx, but currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

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SHELBY R. LARKIN
Co-Executive Producer

Shelby Renee Larkin is an accomplished TV/Film producer and entrepreneur. Her passion for entertainment and media was ignited through an internships her senior year of high school at Nashville's CBS affiliate, WTVF-News Channel 5. From there, Shelby went on to attend Spelman College in Atlanta. She graduated in 2003 with a Bachelors degree in Economics. During her college years Shelby completed numerous internships with prominent media & entertainment companies including So So Def Recordings, Burson-Marstellar PR, CNN, ABC News as well as stints with major corporations like Andersen Consulting & Goldman Sachs.

Upon graduation, Shelby relocated to Harlem, NY and continued her work with ABC News as well as Real Simple Magazine & the Arena Football League. After being accepted to the prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California Cinema-TV school, Shelby set her sights on Hollywood. In Los Angeles, Shelby made a name for herself as a TV producer having worked for entities including Paramount Domestic Television, Warner Brothers/Telepictures, The Dr. Phil Show, Style Network, BET, Endemol USA, Firestone Productions and others.

As an entrepreneur Shelby has led numerous publicity campaigns for a range of events including awards shows and red-carpet events. Additionally, Shelby's love for fashion led to her creation of a women’s fashion line, Urban Heiress Apparel, which currently can be found on Etsy.com or on Shelby's blog, The Urban Heiress.

Irony of Connecticut: The Difference Between New Haven & Hartford

When people think of Connecticut Yale University often comes to mind along with some of the most influential people of our time who call this state home. In fact CT, is 4th in the nation for having the most college grads in its population. However, the inner-city tells a very different story. In 2007, Hartford, CT reported that its high schools graduated only 29 percent of the students who had entered the public schools in the ninth grade. Furthermore, Hartford ranks 10th nationwide in household poverty.



A recent study by Northeastern University showed that Connecticut high school dropouts were 17 times more likely than college graduates to need food stamps. More than a quarter of dropouts under 64 receive rental subsidies. CT's achievement gap remains the largest in the nation. In National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, the gap between Latino and white students in eighth-grade math was the worst in the nation, and black students lagged 4.4 grade levels behind white students. What does this tell us? There's an obvious disconnect between what's going on in New Haven and Hartford. We must do more to empower our youth with education and instill in them that without their hard work & determination life will be a lot tougher for them than it has to be.

Source

90% Of Black Children Will Be On Food Stamps?

CLICK HERE to read this alarming study.