CAAAE Garners a $200,000 Grant from the Kellogg Foundation!
In 2010, the Kellogg Foundation launched a $75 million America Healing Initiative. One of its main goals is to abolish structural racism. There were approximately 1,200 applicants, but only 119 were funded. The CAAAE submitted a grant in partnership with the East Side Union High School District. Although we were not funded, we cultivated a relationship with the Vice President who created the initiative.
Fast forward. The CAAAE submitted a grant to seek general operating support so that we can move forward with the Consortium to Advance Equity in Education (CAEE) mentioned in this column a few months ago. We are excited about this support and will be reaching out to CAEE members in thenext few weeks to outline future plans!
CAAAE Highlights
About the Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 by breakfast cereal pioneer W.K. Kellogg, who defined its purpose as "…administering funds for the promotion of the welfare, comfort, health, education, feeding, clothing, sheltering and safeguarding of children and youth, directly or indirectly, without regard to sex, race, creed or nationality.…" To guide current and future trustees and staff, he said, "Use the money as you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children."
The foundation receives its income primarily from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust, which was set up by Mr. Kellogg. In addition to its diversified portfolio, the trust continues to own substantial equity in the Kellogg Company.
Happy New Year! While that was the sentiment expressed by millions around the world when we ushered in 2012, many others saw it as just another year of despair. Unfortunately, some of us working in the trenches to ameliorate learning opportunities for black and brown students are also growing more and more alarmed. For the past five months, I have used this column to discuss those barriers, outlined in Dr. Geneva Gay's seminal book entitled Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice, to explain what I believe are major factors contributing to the on-going gaps between black and brown students and their white and Asian peers. Visit the newsletter archives page to download the last five issues of this newsletter or purchase Dr. Gay's book to read all of the reasons she gives and solutions.
Why the Gaps Persist: Part VI, contd.
Dr. Geneva Gay
The last barrier is cultural hegemony. Dr. Gay writes, "The greatest of all obstacles to culturally responsive teaching is mainstream ethnocentrism and hegemony. They effectively block the acquisition and application of new culturally relevant pedagogical knowledge, skills, and will in teaching African, Latino, Native, and Asian American students. Some educators fail to realize that the assumptions, expectations, protocols, and practices considered normative in schools are not immutable. They are based on the standards of the cultural system of one ethnic group - European Americans - that have been imposed on all others. However discomforting this challenge may be to the guardians of pedagogical tradition, the change must occur if the performance of underachieving students is to be reversed."
