WHY AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE NOT ACHIEVING

African American children, their parents and educators
identify five barriers that prevent African American students from achieving

Author Dr. Kay Lovelace Taylor Agrees With Bill Cosby
That Black Parents Need to Assume Greater Responsibility

(AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSWIRE)Phoenix, Arizona ---In her recently published book on why African American children are not learning and achieving in public and private school systems, Dr. Kay Lovelace Taylor agrees with entertainer Bill Cosby that African American parents must assume some responsibility.
Cosby's remarks at the May 17 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education at the Constitution Hall in Washington, DC ignited a nationwide controversy. Cosby, who has earned a doctorate degree, was especially critical of African American parents for not taking full responsibility in raising their children.
In her book, Through Their Eyes--A Strategic Response to the National Achievement Gap, Dr. Taylor, who has an extensive background as an educator and administrator in public education, devotes a chapter to an analysis of the role and responsibilities of African American parents in the educational growth and development of children.
Dr. Taylor writes that her research and findings indicate that although parent responsibilities are critical to eliminating the achievement gap, student behaviors, teacher behaviors, school culture, and community/environment/streets are also necessary components and need to be understood and changed in order for the achievement gap to be closed.

"To close the achievement gap, you have to change the perceptions people have concerning children of color and poverty. These perceptions are dangerous because they are based on long held beliefs that in many cases have no factual foundation."

Two major points made by Dr. Taylor in her book are:
1. Race plays a significant role in how African American children are treated in public and private schools in suburban as well as urban areas.
2. Poverty is a condition a person finds himself or herself in; it is not the determining factor to be used to judge intellectual capacity.

Kay Lovelace Taylor is president of KLT & Associates and the wife of the late H. LeBaron Taylor, a prominent recording company executive and civic activist. She has held executive positions in two of the larger districts in the country, Detroit and Philadelphia. She also served as an associate professor for educational leadership and policy studies for the College of Education at Temple University in Philadelphia.

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If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Kay Lovelace Taylor, please call 480 342-9638 or email lovelacetaylor@aol.com. To order Through Their Eyes: A Strategic Response to the National Achievement Gap (AR27) $19.99 contact RBS Publications at 112 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19102-1510, Telephone: 215.568.6150 ext. 280. Fax: 215 568.7260. Web address: www.rbs.org.

If interested in booking Dr. Kay Lovelace Taylor for a speaking engagement, please send an email to Info@unityfirst.com or call 1-800-286-3659