He attributes part of this performance gap to a dearth of African-American male role models in education, a trend that is reflected nationally. Of all the district’s teachers, only three are black men.
The Delany Scholars Program was a step toward solving this problem. While its resources were only available to a select group of students, those whom their teachers had identified as academically promising, the impact was transformative, participants said.
They took part in activities such as peer tutoring and after-school revisions. On several occasions, program director Reginald Hickman and two other teachers organized visits from African-American male professionals, seeking to dispel the stereotype that black men can’t succeed in higher education and the workforce.
“A lot of people don’t know what young black men on the rise are capable of,” said Mr. Smith, who will attend Allegheny College this fall.