Ivory A. Toldson - Böcker

The field of education has been and will continue to be essential to the survival and sustainability of the Black community. Unfortunately, over the past five decades, two major trends have become clearly evident in the Black community: (a) the decline of the academic achievement levels of Black students and (b) the disappearance of Black teachers, particularly Black males. Today, of the 3.5 million teachers in America’s classrooms (AACTE, 2010) only 8% are Black teachers, and approximately 2% of these teachers are Black males (NCES, 2010). Over the past few decades, the Black teaching force in the U.S. has dropped significantly (Lewis, 2006; Lewis, Bonner, Byrd, & James, 2008; Milner & Howard, 2004), and this educational crisis shows no signs of ending in the near future. As the population of Black students in K-12 schools in the U. S. continue to rise—currently over 16% of students in America’s schools are Black (NCES, 2010)—there is an urgent need to increase the presence of Black educators.The overall purpose of this edited volume is to stimulate thought and discussion among diverse audiences (e.g., policymakers, practitioners, and educational researchers) who are concerned about the performance of Black students in our nation’s schools, and to provide evidence-based strategies to expand our nation’s pool of Black teachers. To this end, it is our hope that this book will contribute to the teacher education literature and will inform the teacher education policy and practice debate.

The field of education has been and will continue to be essential to the survival and sustainability of the Black community. Unfortunately, over the past five decades, two major trends have become clearly evident in the Black community: (a) the decline of the academic achievement levels of Black students and (b) the disappearance of Black teachers, particularly Black males. Today, of the 3.5 million teachers in America’s classrooms (AACTE, 2010) only 8% are Black teachers, and approximately 2% of these teachers are Black males (NCES, 2010). Over the past few decades, the Black teaching force in the U.S. has dropped significantly (Lewis, 2006; Lewis, Bonner, Byrd, & James, 2008; Milner & Howard, 2004), and this educational crisis shows no signs of ending in the near future. As the population of Black students in K-12 schools in the U. S. continue to rise—currently over 16% of students in America’s schools are Black (NCES, 2010)—there is an urgent need to increase the presence of Black educators.The overall purpose of this edited volume is to stimulate thought and discussion among diverse audiences (e.g., policymakers, practitioners, and educational researchers) who are concerned about the performance of Black students in our nation’s schools, and to provide evidence-based strategies to expand our nation’s pool of Black teachers. To this end, it is our hope that this book will contribute to the teacher education literature and will inform the teacher education policy and practice debate.

Debates regarding the qualities, skills, and dispositions of culturally relevant teachers and teaching have raged in teacher education for several decades. Ladson-Billings’ (2009) The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children was a groundbreaking work that has become a foundational study that informs the work of culturally-relevant (Ladson-Billings, 2009) and culturally-sustaining (Paris & Alim, 2017) teaching. In her book The Dreamkeepers she describes effective teachers who are able to draw from the cultural wealth, knowledges, and heritage of Black communities. The Dreamkeepers ensured that their Black students were academically successful, retained, and grew both in terms of their cultural competence and their sociopolitical awareness. In other words, according to research by Ladson-Billings (2009), effective teachers possessed both pedagogical and relational dispositions, which leave lifelong impacts on the academic and social lives of the students they teach. While being a foundational text, what remains missing from the research on culturally-relevant and even culturally-sustaining teachers are 'narratives' (read: stories, testimonios, etc.) related to how the race of particular E–12 teachers positively impact the lives of their students.For instance, Dr. Antonio Ellis (the first editor of the proposed book) describes his high school music teacher Mr. Linard McCloud) as 'a highly effective African American music educator who changed the course of his life' (p. 170). Ellis (2016) describes McCloud as being loving, caring, creative, culturally sensitive, attuned, hopeful, flexible, organized, and thoughtful. Because Mr. McCloud possessed the aforementioned characteristics and dispositions, Ellis contends that he was motivated to achieve academically and socially in his urban high school. In addition, according to Ellis (2016), Mr. McCloud was a highly impactful educator because he went beyond the call of duty as a teacher—a practice that is not so common in schools, particularly urban ones. Not only did McCloud teach in the classroom setting, but he also built strong relationships with families, community members, and external stakeholders including local businesses, colleges, and universities. Mr. McCloud used these networks to leverage opportunities for his students academically, personally, and professionally. Like many of his high school classmates, Ellis (2016) contends that he would not have graduated from high school if it were not for the care and mentorship he received from Mr. McCloud. In this proposed edited volume, it is the editors’ goal to honor teachers like Mr. McCloud who have made a difference in the lives of their students by learning from their impactful practices.Employing a 'critical storytelling' methodology (see Hartlep & Hensley, 2015; Hartlep, Hensley, Braniger, & Jennings, 2017), each chapter contributor will use his or her own narrative to show the power of influential teachers in classrooms. While this framework centers race, lived and learned experiences, the storyteller is the most important unit of narrative; hence, The Impact of Classroom Practices: Reflections on Culturally Relevant Teachers will include African-American storytellers who reflect on the impact of classroom practices of teachers from diverse backgrounds who they deemed culturally relevant and responsive to both their academic and social needs. This work will offer recommendations to pre-service teachers and in-service teachers who desire to leave a lasting impact on the students they teach.

Debates regarding the qualities, skills, and dispositions of culturally relevant teachers and teaching have raged in teacher education for several decades. Ladson-Billings’ (2009) The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children was a groundbreaking work that has become a foundational study that informs the work of culturally-relevant (Ladson-Billings, 2009) and culturally-sustaining (Paris & Alim, 2017) teaching. In her book The Dreamkeepers she describes effective teachers who are able to draw from the cultural wealth, knowledges, and heritage of Black communities. The Dreamkeepers ensured that their Black students were academically successful, retained, and grew both in terms of their cultural competence and their sociopolitical awareness. In other words, according to research by Ladson-Billings (2009), effective teachers possessed both pedagogical and relational dispositions, which leave lifelong impacts on the academic and social lives of the students they teach. While being a foundational text, what remains missing from the research on culturally-relevant and even culturally-sustaining teachers are 'narratives' (read: stories, testimonios, etc.) related to how the race of particular E–12 teachers positively impact the lives of their students.For instance, Dr. Antonio Ellis (the first editor of the proposed book) describes his high school music teacher Mr. Linard McCloud) as 'a highly effective African American music educator who changed the course of his life' (p. 170). Ellis (2016) describes McCloud as being loving, caring, creative, culturally sensitive, attuned, hopeful, flexible, organized, and thoughtful. Because Mr. McCloud possessed the aforementioned characteristics and dispositions, Ellis contends that he was motivated to achieve academically and socially in his urban high school. In addition, according to Ellis (2016), Mr. McCloud was a highly impactful educator because he went beyond the call of duty as a teacher—a practice that is not so common in schools, particularly urban ones. Not only did McCloud teach in the classroom setting, but he also built strong relationships with families, community members, and external stakeholders including local businesses, colleges, and universities. Mr. McCloud used these networks to leverage opportunities for his students academically, personally, and professionally. Like many of his high school classmates, Ellis (2016) contends that he would not have graduated from high school if it were not for the care and mentorship he received from Mr. McCloud. In this proposed edited volume, it is the editors’ goal to honor teachers like Mr. McCloud who have made a difference in the lives of their students by learning from their impactful practices.Employing a 'critical storytelling' methodology (see Hartlep & Hensley, 2015; Hartlep, Hensley, Braniger, & Jennings, 2017), each chapter contributor will use his or her own narrative to show the power of influential teachers in classrooms. While this framework centers race, lived and learned experiences, the storyteller is the most important unit of narrative; hence, The Impact of Classroom Practices: Reflections on Culturally Relevant Teachers will include African-American storytellers who reflect on the impact of classroom practices of teachers from diverse backgrounds who they deemed culturally relevant and responsive to both their academic and social needs. This work will offer recommendations to pre-service teachers and in-service teachers who desire to leave a lasting impact on the students they teach.

Recently, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan suggested that placing Black men in the classroom as teachers is a critical need in the American educational system. Many education policymakers and researchers falsely believe that Black male teachers have a primary responsibility to foster the social development of Black male students. However, increasing the presence of Black male teachers improves the diversity of the profession and should be viewed as a benefit to the system, as they provide quality services to all students regardless of race and/or gender. This edited volume offers sound suggestions for advancing diversity in the teaching profession. It provides teacher education programs with needed training materials to accommodate Black male students, and school district administrators and leaders with information to help recruit and retain Black male teachers. Each chapter will feature policy and practice recommendations and a case example to spur action and increase opportunities for discussion.

“Possibility and Statistics” (P.S.) is a rigorously ethical, mixed-method way of knowing that centers lived experience, assets, and human agency; treats oral narratives as primary data; and designs measures, tools, and dissemination practices to cultivate flourishing rather than manage risk. Ivory A. Toldson’s Possibility and Statistics is more than a book about statistical methods; it is a profound and necessary intervention into the soul of education and social science. It is a methodological treatise and a deeply personal work of literary scholarship that redefines the purpose of data in a world saturated with it. By developing a new statistical language, Toldson demonstrates that the principles of possibility—care, context, and potential—can be as analytically rigorous as the principles of probability.Possibility and Statistics introduces a new analytical toolkit; formula-driven methods designed to quantify hope. Metrics like the Overcoming Adversity Index (OAI), which measures success relative to context; the Potential Realization Quotient (PRQ), which quantifies achievement beyond statistical expectations; and the Resource Parity Index (RPI), which measures inequities in resources, give practitioners tangible tools.Toldson crafts a powerful argument that the tools of statistics, so often used to document despair and predict failure, must be re-engineered to architect hope and cultivate human potential. The result is a work that is at once a rigorous academic text and a moral call to arms for researchers, educators, policymakers, and anyone who wields data that touches human lives.

“Possibility and Statistics” (P.S.) is a rigorously ethical, mixed-method way of knowing that centers lived experience, assets, and human agency; treats oral narratives as primary data; and designs measures, tools, and dissemination practices to cultivate flourishing rather than manage risk. Ivory A. Toldson’s Possibility and Statistics is more than a book about statistical methods; it is a profound and necessary intervention into the soul of education and social science. It is a methodological treatise and a deeply personal work of literary scholarship that redefines the purpose of data in a world saturated with it. By developing a new statistical language, Toldson demonstrates that the principles of possibility—care, context, and potential—can be as analytically rigorous as the principles of probability.Possibility and Statistics introduces a new analytical toolkit; formula-driven methods designed to quantify hope. Metrics like the Overcoming Adversity Index (OAI), which measures success relative to context; the Potential Realization Quotient (PRQ), which quantifies achievement beyond statistical expectations; and the Resource Parity Index (RPI), which measures inequities in resources, give practitioners tangible tools.Toldson crafts a powerful argument that the tools of statistics, so often used to document despair and predict failure, must be re-engineered to architect hope and cultivate human potential. The result is a work that is at once a rigorous academic text and a moral call to arms for researchers, educators, policymakers, and anyone who wields data that touches human lives.

A Brill | Sense Bestseller!What if everything you thought you knew about Black people generally, and educating Black children specifically, was based on BS (bad stats)? We often hear things like, “Black boys are a dying breed,” “There are more Black men in prison than college,” “Black children fail because single mothers raise them,” and “Black students don’t read.” In No BS, Ivory A. Toldson uses data analysis, anecdotes, and powerful commentary to dispel common myths and challenge conventional beliefs about educating Black children. With provocative, engaging, and at times humorous prose, Toldson teaches educators, parents, advocates, and students how to avoid BS, raise expectations, and create an educational agenda for Black children that is based on good data, thoughtful analysis, and compassion. No BS helps people understand why Black people need people who believe in Black people enough not to believe every bad thing they hear about Black people.

A Brill | Sense Bestseller!What if everything you thought you knew about Black people generally, and educating Black children specifically, was based on BS (bad stats)? We often hear things like, “Black boys are a dying breed,” “There are more Black men in prison than college,” “Black children fail because single mothers raise them,” and “Black students don’t read.” In No BS, Ivory A. Toldson uses data analysis, anecdotes, and powerful commentary to dispel common myths and challenge conventional beliefs about educating Black children. With provocative, engaging, and at times humorous prose, Toldson teaches educators, parents, advocates, and students how to avoid BS, raise expectations, and create an educational agenda for Black children that is based on good data, thoughtful analysis, and compassion. No BS helps people understand why Black people need people who believe in Black people enough not to believe every bad thing they hear about Black people.

Educational equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice are widely considered to be the most important civil rights challenge of the 21st century. Many HBCUs began in the 1800s as institutions to prepare Black teachers to teach in segregated America. Although their focus has expanded since their critical beginnings, HBCUs remain significant producers of African American teachers. Today, as the United States grapples with educational disparities, lack of diversity among education professionals, systemic racism, and the recent politically-inspired assaults on Critical Race Theory, we need HBCU leadership in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education more than ever. Black College Leadership in PK–12 Education amplifies the research and perspectives of HBCU leaders, including four HBCU education deans, on how HBCUs help school districts optimize education for Black preschool, elementary and secondary students. Specific topics include HBCU teacher preparation, building HBCU and PK–12 partnerships, culturally responsive teaching, inclusive assessment practices, and HBCU leadership in STEM education. This book is ideal for school teachers and administrators who want to use HBCUs as a resource to improve education, as well as HBCU leaders who want to work more effectively with local school districts.

Educational equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice are widely considered to be the most important civil rights challenge of the 21st century. Many HBCUs began in the 1800s as institutions to prepare Black teachers to teach in segregated America. Although their focus has expanded since their critical beginnings, HBCUs remain significant producers of African American teachers. Today, as the United States grapples with educational disparities, lack of diversity among education professionals, systemic racism, and the recent politically-inspired assaults on Critical Race Theory, we need HBCU leadership in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education more than ever. Black College Leadership in PK–12 Education amplifies the research and perspectives of HBCU leaders, including four HBCU education deans, on how HBCUs help school districts optimize education for Black preschool, elementary and secondary students. Specific topics include HBCU teacher preparation, building HBCU and PK–12 partnerships, culturally responsive teaching, inclusive assessment practices, and HBCU leadership in STEM education. This book is ideal for school teachers and administrators who want to use HBCUs as a resource to improve education, as well as HBCU leaders who want to work more effectively with local school districts.

This book chronicles the transformative journey of Concentric Educational Solutions. One Door at a Time provides a compelling narrative of how the organization challenges traditional educational paradigms by placing students and families at the heart of their model. Through powerful anecdotes and evidence-based strategies, the authors illustrate how Concentric dismantles systemic barriers, fosters authentic engagement, and builds equitable learning environments. This book is an essential resource for educators, administrators, and policymakers seeking to create meaningful change and prioritize student success through innovative, student-centered approaches.