Schools have failed black male students

From Friday's USA Today, a letter to the editor:

"USA TODAY's editorial on the gender gap in high school graduation rates highlights the national tragedy of how schools have failed boys, especially African-American boys. But the data cited in the editorial and originally published by Education Week is not new and only reports what nmost parents, teachers and school officials already know yet choose to ignore: Public schools are failing to educate black boys ("When it comes to your sons, schools miss the mark," Editorial, Friday).
The graduation rate for black boys is a disgrace, and the education system's failure to provide an environment where black boys can be successful is almost criminal.
Even though public school systems are well aware of the status of black male students, they are ignored, stereotyped and written off as dysfunctional.
The low graduation rate is only part of the tragedy. Black male students are disproportionately suspended and expelled from school, systematically excluded from advanced and college preparatory classes, and overrepresented in special education classes.
Last month, the governor of Ohio took the bold step of convening a state conference to explore how public schools and local communities could address these issues. Every state should follow the lead of Ohio by developing initiatives to address the status of black male students in public schools."
- Floyd Weatherspoon, Professor of Law, Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio

Floyd provides a good overview of the problems of exclusion within our school systems. Many schools appear to effectively serve students who "conform" well to certain implicit standards. However, as pointed out by Weatherspoon, there are many who fall outside of that group.