Don't Fuss ... Let's Discuss
The African-American Community Forum
Prelude: 1) 2014 will be the final year of the No Child Left Behind Act (assuming it is reauthorized in 2007) and we will know whether Wilkes County Schools made or failed to make "adequate yearly progress;" the present pattern of progress suggests a potential risk of takeover of the schools by the State in 2014.

2) In 2014, Wilkes employed baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 will be retiring in significant numbers between 2014 and 2032.

3) 2014 is the year forecast for the Social Security Trust Fund to begin to disburse more funds than it receives in order to accommodate the high number of retiring baby boomers.

4) As the baby boomers begin to retire in 2014, the new Generation X born between 1960s and 1980s of African Americans, white Americans and other multi-ethnic American leaders in Wilkes County will take positions of power and authority to bring about positive economic changes or may choose to continue the present downward spiral toward economic depression as predicted by some economists by 2014 .

5) By 2014 new technologies will expand the options and choices individuals and families have in all aspects of their lives, including education.

6) Between 2005 and 2014, "key drivers" of change such as economics, politics, demographics, globalization and technology can be expected to continue to expand. The question for us in Wilkes County is: how will these drivers of change shape the economy of Wilkes County in coming years? And what are we doing now to prepare ourselves and the multi-ethnic communities for the inevitable changes ahead?

Part I. 2005-2014: Impact of High School Graduates and Dropouts on

the Economy of Wilkes County

We have been focusing our attention on the educational progress of our children from pre-kindergarten to graduation, particularly in the period between 1970 and 2005. In the last three articles we have identified students who met graduation requirements of 'no child left behind' and graduated with diplomas within the required four years. Also, we have discussed the students who dropped out of school between the ninth and twelfth grade, and considered the negative impact of their choice of not acquiring adequate educational or job market skills sufficient to keep themselves out of poverty as well as avoiding a negative impact on the economy of the African-American community and Wilkes County in general.

This article provides information on the types of diplomas received by the 2005 high school graduates. Basically, students can complete high school with a diploma that prepares them for college level courses or they can complete high school with a vocational endorsement diploma. Students must complete the more rigorous academic courses in science, language and math to receive the academic or college preparatory diploma. The table below shows the kinds of diplomas offered at Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School.

Let's have a conversation about the numbers. Reading from left to right, they tell us that of the 42 students who received college prep diplomas 26.2 percent were African American graduates and 71.4 percent were white American graduates and 2.4 percent were multi-ethnic American graduates. Contrast, the numbers also tell us that of the 45 vocational endorsements diplomas awarded, 60.0 percent went to African-American graduates as compared to 35.6 percent to white American graduates and 4.4 percent went to multi-ethnic American graduates.

Why are we African-American mothers and/or fathers (parents), guardians, household care-providers, foster parents, community leaders and church spiritual leaders allowing so many of our children to spend 14 years in a certified teaching and learning environment to become candidates for self-imposed poverty? Our children have unfettered access to all equal educational opportunities as any other groups. Are we not teaching our children to value education and the difference it can make in their lives? What responsibility do we adults have to ensure that our children study the math, science, language and other academic courses that will best allow them to become economically independent to better their life.

I fear that our children are being raised under too many different sets of low home-grown and community standards and expectations that will reinforce our existing economic dependency on the white American capitalist power brokers and rulers in Wilkes County. We must hold high expectations and standards for the schools performance during 14.4 percent of our children annual time spent with their teachers. And we must be responsible for the 85.6 percent of our children's annual time, absent away from their teachers, as substitute teachers committed to preparing our children for the competitive global job market. We must not be political blind, economic dependent on the white American capitalist power brokers and rulers and indifferent to the low level of academic achievement of our youth.