In response to the national challenges related to the academic achievement of Black and Latino males, the Consortium on High Achievement and Success (CHAS) held its annual conference at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, recently.

“Standing Strong: Reconnecting, Recreating and Reclaiming” was the theme for this year’s weekend event.

Of the 26 CHAS member liberal arts colleges, four schools are based in Pennsylvania. The conference appeared to have been an empowering, engaging and educational experience for students, staff and speakers alike.

According to Howard Jean, Grays Ferry resident and conference speaker, the conference was unique.

“The students are academically strong simply because they are attending prestigious schools such as Haverford College and Swarthmore College,” he said. “These students have a much larger burden of success because they are first generation college students.”

Jean believes students of color have a different legacy because they are not able to carry the torch passed on to them from prior generations.

“The majority of these students have to build, light and carry the torch — for self, families and communities,” Jean said. 

As an educator, Jean feels that teaching students with English as second language can be challenging. 

“When English is not used or reinforced in the home, principles taught in school only apply in an academic setting,” he said. 

The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that African-American and Hispanic males comprise 6 percent and 8 percent respectively for first-time bachelor’s degree recipients based on 2009 data.

“Many of these students are hundreds of miles away from family and friends and this is tough for a freshman,” Jean said. “My goal was to motivate the students to find ways to stand out on campus, in the community and within their own demographic.

“Learn from your counterparts and embrace the differences,” he added. “Most importantly maintain self-respect. This conference has connected area schools where this diverse group of students can now continue to build with other students of similar upbringings.”

West Philadelphia native Louis Bolling attended as a conference student advisor for the Haverford students.

Bolling felt the conference was a good medium for students with common ethnic and academic experiences to network and collaborate.

“I would like to see the students engage with each other beyond the conference,” he said. “I encouraged the Haverford students to set their own vision and plan of action for the conference and beyond.”