University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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black educators of tomorrow % OQO T he Black Educators of Tomorrow, founded last September 2004, strove to help African Americans become more involved in the field of education. It ' s an organization that was founded this year. It is basically a support system for African Americans and other minorities on campus that are interested in topics related to education, senior language arts major and co-founder Desiree Harrison said. The other co-founder was senior elementary education student Sidney Bailey IV. Together, the two hoped that the organization could provide various support networks and resources to the University ' s School of Education in order to help recruit more freshman and sophomores. Like the Ross School of Business, the School of Education required students to apply for admittance at the end of their sophomore year, and the Black Educators of Tomorrow provided guidance in the application process. We want to make more people aware of the school [of education] and the opportunities it can provide. We want to make it more known to LSA students, Harrison said. Her motives for founding the organization were quite clear: Ever since I ' ve been in the School of Education, I just felt like there wasn ' t a presence of African Americans there - either with staff or students. Before entering, I felt like they weren ' t totally interested in me, she said. The organization and its members discussed expanding to other campuses across the country but felt that it was first necessary to build a strong foundation at the University. The Black Educators of Tomorrow met once a month in the School of Education. At the most recent meeting, the group held a panel discussion about urban education, and discussed the implementation of a community service program. We want to start writing letters to teenagers someday in order to hopefully help mentor them through high school, Harrison said. The Black Educators of Tomorrow was open to all students interested in any part of the School of Education. Students already involved ranged from freshmen undergraduates to graduate students. Harrison also mentioned that the best way in which to get involved was to simply attend one of their meetings. by : robert fowler Senior language arts major Desiree Harrison and senior elementary education major Sidney Bailey IV, the co-founders of Black Educators of Tomorrow, stand with a guest speaker at one of the group ' s meetings. Meetings were open to all students interested in the School of Education. Photo courtesy Black Educators of Tomorrow

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The SORC office, located on the fourth floor of the Union, has its doors open for students. The office was open from I Oa.m. to I I p.m. during the week. Y. Granata photo A student organization member gets help at the front desk of the SORC office. Student organization leaders became par- ticularly familiar with SORC, as they used the office to sign groups up for Diag boards and banners. Y. Granata photo GO o 7: n

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Current and future School of Education students share a laugh at a group meeting. The group worked with first-year and sophomore students in the School of Education application process. Photo courtesy Black Educators of Tomorrow Group members wait patiently for a meeting to start.At meetings group members discussed how to solidify their presence on campus in order to eventually expand to other colleges and Universities nationwide. Photo courtesy Black Educators of Tomorrow w n 7T m g- s rf o o o 1