Giving Compass' Take:

· After being banned from communicating with students via social media and text, Chicago teachers are working on finding new strategies to make connections with and boost opportunities for black boys. 

· Should teachers partake in social emotional learning? What are some ways teachers can make connections with students? 

· Studies show that African-American teachers promote education equality and increase success for black students.

In 2006, Tim King opened the first Urban College Prep, a charter school for young black men in Englewood. Speaking to a group of educators, he recalled arriving at a student’s house to drive him to college, only to see the young man walking out of the house with a trash bag.

King, who now oversees three all-boys campuses, says he urged the student to hurry, mistakenly thinking he’d caught him trying to finish a chore. Instead, the trash bag contained the young man’s clothes and belongings. King, who is black, said the moment made him check his own bias, recalling his startling realization as he contrasted his student with himself: “I took my things to college in a suitcase.”

Such anecdotes animated a day devoted to teaching educators about harnessing technology to personalize learning, in sessions offered at the Leap InnovatEd Summit at the Hyatt McCormick Place. Getting to know learners beyond their surface-level classroom work is a key part of reaching students at every level, said Phyllis Lockett, the founder and CEO of Leap Innovations, the group behind the summit. “We call it being ‘learner focused’ — developing a deep understanding of each learner’s life, challenges and interests,” she said.

But it was reflections like King’s that struck chords that resonated with participants, on the importance of equity in their work. King’s panel — on how educators can improve the odds for black boys — drew a standing-room-only crowd.

Read the full article about improving opportunities by Cassie Walker Burke at Chalkbeat.