Boosting black males

School Administrator, March, 2008 by Ronaldo Fisher

I believe the conditions facing young African-American male students described in Rosa Smith's "Halting an Educational Genocide at Home" (November 2007) have taken place since the first schools opened in the United States.

I am an example of a black male who has been blessed to see the importance of education and encouragement for such success at all points of my life.

As an AP Biology teacher in a school district south of Oakland, Calif., I have been finding it difficult to encourage more African-American males at my school to jump into not only my AP class but others. I hope to read more insightful articles like Smith's about how to bring about greater enrollment in college-level classes and encourage other subject-matter AP teachers to reach out to such students.

RONALDO FISHER

Biology Teacher, Kennedy High School, Fremont, Calif.