Raising Kings: A Three-Part Audio Series From Education Week/NPR (Episode 2)
If you鈥檝e been following this audio series, you know about Ron Brown College Prep, the remarkable new D.C. school designed specifically to meet the needs of young men of color.
In episode one, you met the principal and learned about the school鈥檚 core philosophy鈥攑lacing high expectations on its students鈥攌nown as 鈥渒ings鈥濃�攁nd infusing love into their schooling experience.
In the second episode, Ron Brown鈥檚 unique CARE team and the teaching faculty continue their focus on nurturing students鈥� social and emotional growth. But their time becomes increasingly dominated by a few kings who are getting into trouble.
The school鈥檚 commitment to never suspending a student is put to the test by some serious incidents, including a couple of staff members who are assaulted. And there is pushback from some parents who are deeply skeptical of this unfamiliar approach to discipline.
Meanwhile, the profound academic gaps among students have become glaringly obvious. Some kings are reading on the 1st grade level and struggling with even the most basic math concepts. Others are reading on the 10th grade level and able to do college-prep math.
Teachers are worried about both extremes鈥攈ow to accelerate years of literacy work into a few months for the kings who are woefully behind and how to keep high-performing students from becoming bored and complacent among so many peers who are years behind them academically.
And morale is beginning to flag as pressure mounts on the Ron Brown faculty to squeeze two years of learning into one year of teaching and ultimately, to prove that this radically different approach to educating students won鈥檛 be a failure. Can it be done?
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Listen to Episode Two
This episode originally aired Oct. 25, 2017 on NPR鈥檚 Code Switch. It鈥檚 introduced by Code Switch鈥檚 Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby.
Browse other episodes: Episode One | Episode Three
