Speaker seeks help in closing 'achievement gap'

YOUNGSTOWN — Former state legislator C.J. Prentiss wants to close what she calls the educational achievement gap for black males in Ohio’s public schools.

Prentiss is now Gov. Ted Strickland’s Special Assistant on Closing the Achievement Gap.

She met with more than 60 school and community representatives here today, urging them to participate in a state conference on increasing the graduation rate for black males May 30 in Columbus.

Youngstown was the last community on her tour of the state’s urban school districts before the conference, she said.

This isn’t the state dictating what should be done, but a call to galvanize communities to take action themselves, Prentiss said, citing statistics that show, in Ohio’s nine largest urban school districts, the graduation rate for black males is just 60 percent, compared with 73 percent for white males and 71 percent for Hispanic males.

For the full story, please see Tuesday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.