Black Male Initiative: Email Hoax, College Education

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Please be aware of an email hoax that provides misinformation about the Call Me Mister program.

Black Male Initiative: Black Collegian. Call Me Mister!

Call Me MISTER!
A Program that Recruits, Trains, Certifies, and Secures Employment for African-American Men as Teachers
by Ross Norton

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The statistic is alarming: less than 1 percent, or fewer than 200, of South Carolina's 20,300 elementary school teachers are African-American men. A unique partnership is changing that. The Call Me MISTER program has received national attention and could become a model for similar efforts to increase the number of Black male teachers coast to coast.

National numbers are little better than those in South Carolina. According to an October 2004 report by the National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force, only 6 percent of the country's public school teachers are African American. The national Education Association reports that 25.8 percent of U.S. teachers are men. Only 9 percent of elementary school teachers are men. The numbers for Black males are even lower.

South Carolina's answer was launched when Clemson University and three historically Black colleges — Benedict College, Claflin University and Morris College — created the Call Me MISTER program to recruit, train, certify and secure employment for African-American men as teachers in the State's public elementary schools. The first class of MISTERs graduated in May 2004 and entered classrooms as strong, positive role models, mentors and leaders.

Another senior institution, South Carolina State University, and four two-year colleges, Midlands Technical College, Orangeburg/Calhoun Technical College, Tri-County Technical College and Trident Technical College, now join the four founding members of the partnership. Clemson is responsible for overall marketing and development, but each school is responsible for recruiting for its program.

The program appeals to young men who want to use their lives to change the lives of other African-American males. Recruits most often hear of Call Me MISTER while still in high school. The partner institution and its teacher education program first must accept students. After they're on campus, they apply to become program participants, or MISTERs.

Prospective MISTERs must demonstrate a commitment to becoming a teacher and submit to an interview before being admitted. The program includes about $5,000 in tuition assistance, but its real value to the MISTERs — and their future elementary students — is a high degree of personal development.

According to Call Me MISTER director Roy I. Jones, the MISTERs learn values, leadership skills, mentoring and how to be role models. They learn to be men. And it is those skills, paired with their academic preparation that will make them distinctive in the classroom.

"They have to know to and for whom they are to be good teachers," Jones says. "Teachers who don't know who they are don't need to be in the classroom."

Students in the modern elementary classroom are rife with personal and developmental problems. Many children are dealing with broken or dysfunctional homes. In their personal lives they are exposed to drugs, violence, a lack of supervision and, perhaps most significant, the lack of positive male role models.

For minority and non-minority children, the MISTER leading his class represents something they don't have in sports stars and entertainers: a Black man of authority whom they can reach out and touch.

"The MISTERs will have a different perspective than most of the other teachers," Jones says. "Some of them come from a dysfunctional background themselves. All of them represent a new breed of teacher: one uniquely prepared to address the whole child."

In a State where African-American men, although a significant part of the population, represent a blip on the elementary teacher rolls and 65 percent of the prison population, Jones believes Call Me MISTER will shatter stereotypes while it kicks open doors across the nation.

In 2001, Call Me MISTER was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and selected to be part of Oprah's Angel Network. The program also has received widespread recognition from former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and has been featured in such national media outlets as USA Today, TIME Magazine and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

Call Me MISTER sponsored a national conference on "Innovations in Recruitment, training and Retention of African-American Male Teachers" on March 18-20 in Greenville, S.C. The conference urged participants, who represented various higher educational institutions from several states, to form collaborative and strategic partnerships based on the Call Me MISTER model and experience. Attendees were given CDs, which included a PowerPoint presentation of the program components.

Speakers included former U.S. Secretary of Education and former South Carolina Governor Richard E. Riley; Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, founder and publisher of African American Images and author of more than 20 books; Abigail Thernstrom, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and co-author of several books, including No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning; and Crystal Keykendall, educator, lawyer and author of several books, including From Rage to Hope: Reclaiming Black and Hispanic Students.

"I'm convinced we are on the brink of a breakthrough with the Call Me MISTER program in addressing, to some degree, the very critical issues confronting our children in school. I am very proud of our MISTERs in training as well as our graduates who are now teaching in several elementary schools," Jones says. "We are on a mission that we believe will transform every life that the program and its participants touch."

For more information about the Call Me MISTER program, visit the Web site: http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/ or telephone 864-656-4646.

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Ross Norton is director of news at Clemson University.

Black Male Initiative: Call Me Mister

Welcome to Call Me MISTER

The mission of the Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) Initiative is to increase the pool of available teachers from a broader more diverse background particularly among the State's lowest performing elementary schools. Student participants are largely selected from among under-served, socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities.
The Call Me MISTER program is contributing to the talent pool of excellent teachers by identifying and supporting students like Mr. Mark Joseph (shown here), who are literally "touching the future" by teaching children. Mark's teaching degree was made possible through the Call Me MISTER program.
The project provides:

• Tuition assistance through Loan Forgiveness programs for admitted students pursuing approved programs of study in teacher education at participating colleges.
• An academic support system to help assure their success.
• A cohort system for social and cultural support.

“Call Me MISTER” was developed by some of our State’s visionary educational leaders who sincerely believe we can build a better tomorrow by getting you involved today.

Video Spotlights

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Please be aware of an email hoax that provides misinformation about our program.

December. Critical Infrastructure Protection Month.

Recognizing Critical Infrastructure Protection Month

President Obama declared December National Critical Infrastructure Protection Month.

Our Nation’s critical infrastructure includes everything from power plants, chemical facilities and cyber networks to bridges and highways, stadiums and shopping malls, as well as the federal buildings where millions of Americans work and visit each day.

Protecting these assets is a shared responsibility. As required by the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, The Department of Homeland Security leads this effort  through a framework of public-private partnerships in close collaboration with the 18 critical infrastructure sectors, which include federal, state, and local governments as well as private sector infrastructure owners and operators.

Since September 11th, DHS has made great strides to improve the security and resiliency of national critical infrastructure. One of the most significant developments has been the linking of physical and cyber infrastructure.  Businesses, governments, and individuals all rely on a vast and interdependent network of physical and cyber systems.  At DHS, we continue to work with industry to identify and mitigate threats to the industrial control systems that operate everything from the power supply to water filtration.

An aware and vigilant public is a critical part of securing critical infrastructure. As Secretary Napolitano has said, “Homeland security starts with hometown security and everyone has a role to play.”

The Department’s "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of suspicious behavior and to emphasize the importance of reporting such activity to the proper state and local law enforcement authorities.

Throughout this month, the Department will reach out to our partners and the public to raise awareness of what we can all do to protect and improve the resiliency of the nation’s vast array of critical assets and systems. It will take all of us working together to ensure these resources remain strong for the next generation.

Follow the Department’s critical infrastructure protection and resilience programs at www.dhs.gov/criticalinfrastructure.

Resources: Witness Justice & Coalition Addressing Trauma

Witness Justice  hopes that the following links help provide the resources and support that you or someone you know may need in order to obtain justice and recover from a violent crime. We strongly encourage you to explore these links to acquire additional information that may help address your needs.


Please note that Witness Justice is not responsible for the content or accuracy of the information provided on these sites. Though we support the good intentions of these sites, Witness Justice neither endorses nor assumes any responsibility whatsoever for any of the views or policies of the organizations represented here. It is incumbent upon the user to exercise good judgment when accessing or acting upon any information obtained from any site on this list.


Child Abuse
Compensation
Criminal and Sexual Offenders
Crisis Assistance
Domestic Violence
Drunk Driving

Education and Research
Elder Abuse

General Prevention Resources
General Victim Resources
Grief

Hate Crimes

Justice System
Justice System Reform
Juvenile Crime and Victim
Assistance    

Legal Assistance
Legal Reference
LGBT   

Missing Children   

Native American Victims  

Restorative Justice
Ritual Abuse   

Self Injury
Sexual Abuse and Assault
Sleep Disorders
Stalking
Stress
Survivors   

Trafficking
Trauma and Mental Health  

Victimization Abroad

Project Opportunity: Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management (CCDRM).

The Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management (CCDRM) Fund invites Caribbean-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and community based organizations (CBOs), to submit proposals for projects designed to reduce disaster risk in vulnerable Caribbean communities.

A wide range of organizations are eligible to apply to the CCDRM Fund. They include, but are not limited to, youth groups, women’s groups, church organizations, service clubs, fisher associations, farmers groups, district disaster management organizations, environmental groups, and associations for the aged.

Proposed projects must reduce a disaster risk that is being experienced by a community. The beneficiary community must consider the reduction of the identified disaster risk to be a priority.  The reduction in disaster risk must be achieved by the close of the project and must be measurable and sustainable.

Grants will be made to successful applicants on a competitive basis. Priority will be given to projects in the CAN $25,000 to CAN $75,000 range. Projects may range in duration from a few months to a maximum of two years.  

Organizations wishing to submit applications for grant funding must use the Fund’s standard Application Form ( NOTE: applications submitted in any other format will not be considered).
The Application Form can be downloaded from the CCDRMF web-page on the CDEMA website.

At the top of the CDEMA web-page you will see a menu-bar. Click on the “Projects” tab. Select “CCDRMF” from the drop-down menu. When the new page appears, select “Fund Documents” from the menu on the left-hand side of the page. The documents can also be accessed by copying the following URL into your browser: (http://www.cdema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=487&Itemid=291).

The “Guide for Project Submissions” and “Frequently Asked Questions” documents can be viewed or downloaded from this web page.  The “Guide” provides an overview of the CCDRM Fund and, details on the information that an application must contain to be successful. Please read the “Guide” before filling out the application form.

THE DEADLINE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:
The fifth call for proposals will be open from November 15th 2010 to 31st January 2011. Applications must be submitted before midnight (GMT -4 hours) on 31st January 2011. Project applications received after midnight on 31st January 2011 will be reviewed under the next (sixth) call for proposals which will open in November 2011.

If you have any questions or require additional information please contact the CCDRM Fund Coordinator, Leslie Walling ( ccdrmf.cancarib@gmail.com).

Applications must be sent to one of the following post, fax or e-mail addresses below:

Fund Coordinator  
Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund
C/o Canadian High Commission      
Bishop’s Court Hill, P.O. Box 404      
Bridgetown, BARBADOS.              
Tel: (246) 425-0386 Ext. 297
Fax: (246) - 429-3876     
Email: ccdrmf.cancarib@gmail.com
Web:  http://www.cdema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=461&Itemid=294

2012 CHDS Essay Competition. $1,000.00 Cash Prize

Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS)

Approximately six weeks remain to submit an entry for the 2012 CHDS Essay Competition. Entries for the competition are being accepted through January 31, 2012.

This year's competition asks writers to: Identify a theory or insight from a field outside homeland security that has not been applied to homeland security but should be.

The winning entry and four top finalist essays will be considered for publication by Homeland Security Affairs, the online academic journal published by the CHDS.

This competition strives to stimulate original thought on issues in homeland security and homeland defense. Responses may be general or focus on a specific aspect (organizational, policy, strategy, practice, technological innovation, social impact, etc.) or discipline/field, (emergency management, public health, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, intelligence, etc.). Essays may be written from any perspective - e.g. government, private sector, cultural, local community or citizen.

Previous winning entries have addressed the power of social media in homeland security, the possibility of linking emergency response and public health with the poison control system and promoting the use of rhetorical tools to help frame the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's mission. Last year's winning entry, authored by Yee San Su of CNA Safety and Security in Alexandria, Va., was titled "On the Challenge of Assessing National Preparedness."

The competition is open to everyone with an interest in homeland defense and security. Current CHDS faculty, staff, students and graduates are not eligible. Winners will be announced no later than May 31, 2012. The winning entry receives a $1,000 cash prize.

For information and instructions, visit www.chds.us/?essay/overview. If you have already submitted an entry, please respond to this email and confirm your submission.

Heather Issvoran
Director, Strategic Communications.  Center for Homeland Defense and Security.       hissvora@nps.edu
Monterey, CA