The Need for a New Narrative of Excellence in the Black Community (Part II)

Bed-Stuy Patch
The need for a higher standard of excellence once again comes into focus with the news that two premier NYC public high schools will no longer participate in the Discovery Program

In my last column I spoke about the need for the black community to create a new narrative of collective excellence in academia and beyond.
This week, the need for this higher standard once again comes sharply into focus with the news that Stuyvesant High School and Bronx Science High School -- two of the premier public schools in the nation -- will no longer participate in the Discovery Program.
The Discovery Program came about from a New York State law passed in 1971 that set the criteria for admission into New York’s selective public high schools.
The provisions for the Discovery Program attempted to gain parity for disadvantaged students who narrowly missed the cutoff score for admission into the elite public high schools by providing an opportunity to still gain entry after attending a summer enrichment course.
The move to discontinue this program is consistent with what has been happening nationally, as state after state continues to roll back the affirmative action policies that were prevalent from the 1970s – 1990s.

Full Opinion: http://bed-stuy.patch.com/articles/the-need-for-a-new-narrative-of-excellence-in-the-black-community-part-ii