Last week, Dalton McGuinty spoke out against having black-focused schools, stating he personally has not seen evidence that it would help "improve learning for black students." The issue over black-focused schools has been in question for over a decade due to high drop-out rates, but the issue has resurfaced increasingly over the past few months with university educators supporting the initiative.

George Dei, researcher on black education for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, talks about the disengagement public education presents to black students and how black-focus schools would be an interesting option we should not ignore.

"It's a different way of looking at the school system ... we have to address the problem that students feel about the alienation and disengagement. These issues have been put in the closet [for] far too long and we should not put the options under the table," says Dei.

Paul Axelrod, dean of education at York believes we should critically look at these alternatives.

"I understand the concerns people have of schooling that looks like segregation, but we have a variety of specialized kinds of programs in the school now for aboriginal, gifted and arts students, and I think in that context this is something worth looking at more closely," he says.

"I don't think that this is a magical solution to challenges faced by kids in the community and we have to approach the whole question of education changing within the public system as well as alternative choices for the students in the public system," he adds.

Dei elaborates that the focus schools will work like the Catholic system, but instead of religion, aspects of culture, history and identity will be examined.

"The school would have a focus of academic excellence as well as critically looking at the complexities of black culture - the diaspora in specific. By examining this, the students will be able to start with the framing of their identity," he adds. Other student leaders agree.

"The Catholic system is there to highlight a need not tended to by the public school system," says Pierrette Walker, black caucus director of York University Black Student Alliance (YUBSA) and third-year history and education major.

Walker further adds that it is important to acknowledge and learn about the contributions black people have made in the community and to educate others further so stereotypes are not perpetuated.

"The purpose is to address the needs of the community and to provide extra-curricular and academic support for students to help motivate them to pursue post-secondary education,"says Walker.

Despite criticisms of segregation by having black-focus schools, Dei contests that "the school is fundamentally based for academic excellence", and that if the initiative succeeds or fails, it is not a reflection of the school, but of society.

However, some students like Amanda Parris disagree.

Parris, who is starting up a group called ROOTS, a group talking about implementing a black curriculum in public schools, feels that this is not the right approach.

"It is not reflective of the youth of Toronto. Although I do sympathize and understand the need for a black-focus school, I don't think it is the right solution," says Parris.

Parris feels that Toronto is a diverse community and that a black-focus school is not "reflective of reality".

She also feels that by having a black history curriculum integrated in the public school system should be an alternative that needs further development.

"At my high school, we worked on a black curriculum. Although it was attended by all black students, I think everybody should participate so we can all learn about the history," she adds.

"In high school, we only learned about the French Canadian experience, but there's a multiplicity of experiences aside from [that perspective]," says Parris, adding that focusing on other cultures as well as black history will better represent the multicultural fabric of Canada and the contributions of these cultures.

Although there have been conflicting emotions about black focus schools, Axelrod stresses that additional alternatives should be examined as well.

"If we come to understand that black focus schools will engage students, [it] will keep them in schools longer. It's worth trying, but I don't think that's the only thing that should be done," says Axelrod.

Copyright (c) 2005 Excalibur, All Rights Reserved. September 21, 2005.