“I’ve been told that some people in the community are waiting for me to fail,” said outspoken Kaleem Caire, president and CEO at the Urban League of Greater Madison. His latest idea, to erect an all-boys college preparatory charter school in the city, has received both cautious support and criticism.
But failure is clearly not in this man’s vocabulary.
Caire’s idea of a college prep school targeting, though not exclusive to the African American teen, is one he actually spent three years developing in Washington, D.C. That plan was put on hold when he and his wife moved back to Madison. Now, citing what he sees as historically disappointing achievement gaps for African American youth here, Caire is looking to resurrect the idea in Madison, where, he said, young African American men, in particular, are faltering.
“When I see 47% of black males between 25 and 29 incarcerated or on parole here, something’s not working,” he said. Some of that is cultural, he said, explaining that positive male role models are lacking. “There’s an 80% chance kids won’t have a father in the home. We’re leaving the mothers and women to do all the work, and that doesn’t have the same impact in development.”
But a new school, now? In an economy that’s recoiling?
No Time Like the Present
In Caire’s mind, kids can’t wait. Consider the data he cites from the ACT District Profile Report for the Madison Metropolitan School District’s 2010 graduating class:
Of students taking the ACT, average test scores differed significantly between African Americans and white students:
| Â | English | Math | Reading | Science | Composite |
| African Americans | 16.3 | 18.0 | 17.1 | 18.4 | 17.6 |
| Caucasian/White | 25.1 | 25.6 | 25.8 | 24.8 | 25.4 |
The percent of students meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores, broken out by ethnicity, for the 2010 graduating class seems more alarming:
| Â | Total Tested | English (18) | Math (22) | Reading (21) | Science (24) |
| All Students | 1,122 | 81% | 68% | 71% | 51% |
| African Americans | 76 | 38% | 24% | 25% | 9% |
| Caucasian/White | 733 | 90% | 77% | 79% | 60% |
| Hispanic | 71 | 59% | 39% | 45% | 18% |
| Asian/Pacific Isl. | 119 | 67% | 65% | 61% | 45% |
Numbers like these fuel Caire’s fire, and his vision for The Madison Preparatory Academy for Young Men. “I’m amazed that [the primarily white leadership in the city] hasn’t looked at this data and said, ‘wow!’ They have the power, but I don’t think anyone has looked at this. So [once again], I’m the angry black man.”
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Building the Workforce
And why should the business community care? It’s all about the workforce, Caire says. “We need a skilled, educated workforce in order to be competitive. If we allow this kind of failure to continue, we hide behind our history. These things have manifested themselves for a long time. If your city is not strong, the business community won’t be strong and businesses will seek other places to go. We need to engage these young students early.”
He implores the community and local businesses to get involved. “If 50 of us stood up with a great plan to get people back to work and revitalizing neighborhoods, things would get done.” Businesses and private investors could provide the expertise to help the Urban League design, plan, and build the school, which eventually would include a girl’s campus as well, ideally located somewhere near the University. “We’d build this in Research Park if we had to,” he laughed, then got serious, “What better place?” But he needs resources, needs to study costs, and must explore opportunities before his vision can materialize.
Business opportunities, he suggested, could include privately sponsored rooms, classrooms, a gym, or renovations. He’d even consider offering naming rights in exchange for financial support. Why? Because Caire believes this school will help engage the young black male population in higher education in a city where academic numbers for African Americans, he says, have declined. “The community needs to tell us they value our kids. People say ‘you’re not as bad as Milwaukee,’ but that’s not the benchmark I necessarily want to be compared against.”
Jumping Hurdles
Caire understands the challenges that lie ahead. By November, he needs to formally propose the idea to the School Board, after which he will seek a planning grant from the Department of Public Instruction. He anticipates other hurdles along the way. Among them, a misconstrued conception. “Madison believes it’s creative, but the reality is, it’s not innovative.” Will the community accept this idea, or sit back and wait, he wonders.
Second: The resources to do it. “We can survive largely on what the school system can give us [once we’re up and running], but there’s seed money you need to get to that point.”
Third: The teacher’s union response. “No one knows what that will be,” Caire said. “The school board and district are so influenced by the teacher’s union, which represents teachers. We represent kids. To me, it’s not, ‘teachers at all costs,’ it’s ‘kids first.’ We’ll see where our philosophies line up.” He added that the Urban League and those behind the Charter School idea are not at all opposed to the teacher’s union, but the Prep School’s design includes, for example, a school day longer than the teacher’s contract allows. “This isn’t about compensation,” he said of the contract, “it’s about commitment. We don’t want red tape caught up in this, and we want to guarantee long-term success.”
Visions of a Visionary
The Madison Prep school Caire envisions will be targeted towards boys of color in grades six through 12, but, he insists, “We don’t want an all-black-male school. We need a diverse school, because that’s the real world. A diverse group would not be racially polarizing.”
The first same-sex charter school of its kind in the state, Madison Prep would have an academically rigorous curriculum emphasizing science, technology communications, and innovation. It would even require 160 hours of community service as a condition toward graduation. The school’s ultimate goal, according to its Executive Summary, is to develop college graduates who succeed in “twenty-first century careers, leadership, and life.” Caire also dreams of a robust sports program and developing a potential for international student travel opportunities during the summer months. “The cultural exchange is invaluable. It helps you become a better steward in your community and enriches you because you’ve experienced things beyond it.”
But much needs to be achieved before Caire’s dreams reach that pinnacle.
The business community, he knows, understands. “If you’re failing in your business, do you continue to fail, do you give up all together, or do you consider a different strategy? We can’t give up on our young men, so what can we do to make the difference? Let’s spend the tax dollars on the front end, [and keep them out of prison].”
Businesses interested in supporting the Urban League and/or the Madison Prep project should contact Kaleem Caire at kcaire@ulgm.org.
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