The mission of the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color (COSEBOC) is to connect, inspire, support and strengthen school leaders dedicated to the social, emotional and academic development of boys and young men of color.
COSEBOC is the only national education organization of practitioners solely focused on promoting the educational success of boys and young men of color. COSEBOC works with all schools – preK-12th grade; public, charter and private; coed and single gender. COSEBOC connects research, policy and practice and is a learning community for school leaders.
COSEBOC's growing menu of programs and services are rooted in our Standards and Promising Practices for Educating Boys and Young Men of Color, a framework for what a school should offer and do if it intends for its male students of color to succeed.
Vision
In the next three years, COSEBOC will:
- build a network of school leaders who are able to increase their schools' success with boys and young men of color;
- provide professional development, promising practices and other resources to support and strengthen our network of school leaders as a learning community;
- promote the concept of schools that are intentionally designed to ensure educational success for their male students of color and the reality of COSEBOC Award Schools that have met this goal and whose male students of color demonstrate success.
Key Accomplishments
- convened nine Gatherings of Leaders, bringing together educators from around the country focused on educating boys of color
- developed COSEBOC Standards and Promising Practices for Schools Educating Boys and Young Men of Color
- launched annual COSEBOC School Awards, recognizing preK-12th grade schools demonstrating success in educating boys and young men of color
- conducted the Sankofa Passages Program, a program for high risk male high school students of color in collaboration with the School District of Philadelphia
- developed our policy agenda and launched its implementation in collaboration with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and CLASP
- established a network of members serving hundreds of thousands of male students of color
- forged active, working collaborations with local and national partners including the Urban Leadership Institute, SchoolWorks, Metro Center for Urban Education, Council of Great City Schools, TERC, Children’s Defense Fund, American Reading Company, Mississippi Center for Education Innovation and many colleges and universities
- funded by the Open Society Foundations – Campaign for Black Male Achievement, The Panasonic Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 21st Century Foundation, Schott Foundation for Public Education, the Boston Foundation, the Hyams Foundation, the NEA Foundation, the Barr Foundation, Scholastic Inc., Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Zaner-Bloser, IBM, Classroom Inc. among others
- engaging, informative website, eNewsletter, and timely eBlasts
- Executive Director Ron Walker nominated for MANifest Awards for Educated Minds, sponsored by Ebony.com and the Open Society Foundations – Campaign for Black Male Achievement