On Dec. 12, over 300 Bellevue School District students, staff, community members and leaders converged on the BC campus for The BOOM Experience, an all-day conference designed to support seventh- through 12th-grade male students who racially identify as African, Black, Hispanic, Latino, LatinX, Native American, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander (or mix of any). BOOM, which stands for Breaking Out Of the Margin, provides an opportunity for these students to connect, get inspired, find support and be led and taught by men from similar backgrounds. This is the third year that Bellevue College has partnered with the district on the program.
Students spent the day learning and engaging in discussions on race, culture, leadership and self-empowerment with sessions like How Race Impacts Your Identity, Speak On It!, La Culture Cura: Beats from the Barrio, A World Without Black People and Purpose & Perseverance.
The most recent report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education puts the national high school graduation rate at 59 percent for Black males, 65 percent for Latino males and 80 percent for white males. An Inside Higher Ed article, Graduation Rates and Race, explored a similar gap in college graduation rates. A National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report found, “on average, white and Asian students earn a college-level credential at a rate about 20 percentage points higher than Hispanic and Black students do.”
Mentorship from an instructor with whom students can identify racially may improve student success. A recent NPR article, If Your Teacher Looks Like You, You May Do Better In School, noted that another study found, “when students had teachers of the same race as them, they reported feeling more cared for, more interested in their schoolwork and more confident in their teachers’ abilities to communicate with them. These students also reported putting forth more effort in school and having higher college aspirations.”
“We are truly excited to be able to continue to offer this opportunity for the students of the Bellevue School District. It is a great partnership we have with the Bellevue Schools Foundation, Bellevue College, Bellevue College Foundation and The City of Bellevue that allows for us to focus on cultural and racial relevance in a meaningful way,” said Krischanna Roberson, supervisor of equity for the school district. “Going into this third year we have worked hard to listen and act on what students have said.”
Roberson noted that a freshman at one of the district’s schools, Dillion, has become a leader himself as a result of attending BOOM. “He has engaged with our staff with such excitement going into this year’s program not only for himself, but in leading other students to the BOOM Experience as well,” said Roberson.
A similar program for female youth, SHOUT, is scheduled for March 27, also at Bellevue College.
Last Updated January 2, 2018