For now it’s a grassy plot of land nestled on the border of the Pico Union and West Adams neighborhoods, but soon Peter and Didi Watts hope it will be the home for a new generation of Black male educators.
The leadership of these future teachers is sorely needed.
In California, Black boys have the lowest reading levels and highest rates of suspension of any demographic group, and Black students in general have the highest absenteeism rate. But, as soon as a Black teacher enters the classroom a clearcut shift takes place.
“If a Black male student has at least one Black teacher between third and fifth grade, their dropout rate from high school declines by 39% and their interest in attending college increases by 29%,” said Peter Watts, co-founder of the non-profit Watts of Power Foundation, referencing a study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and American University.
Watts said Black male teachers are “going to have that impact because they’re seen as a role model and an example for the students that they’re in front of, especially for Black boys.”
And yet, only about 2% of teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are Black men. At a state level that number is worse, closer to 1%.
Watts and his wife Didi are lifelong educators with a vision to transform the life and educational outcomes of students of color by bringing more Black men into the classroom.
A key part of this plan centers upon their 4,000 square foot plot of land.
This will be the site of Los Angeles’ first-ever housing project designed to be affordable for teachers in training, Watts said, and will be used to house fellows in the Watts of Power Foundation’s Teacher Village program.
The Teacher Village is a two-year program that seeks to eliminate the barriers Black men face to becoming teachers – these include isolation on campus, the expense of teacher exams and credentialing, lack of resources for support and advice, and being pigeon-holed into roles…
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