Hip-Hop Education Partnership Catalyzes Equity In California Public Schools and Beyond

Hip-Hop Education Center and Hip-Hop For Change Team Up to Research and Expand the California Department of Education Hip-Hop Education and Equity Initiative

USA, February 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Hip-Hop Education Center (HHEC), California Department of Education (CDE) Hip Hop Education and Equity Initiative (H2E2) grantees, and Hip-Hop For Change (HHFC) are launching the H2E2 Initiative Research Project. The H2E2 Initiative was established in 2019 by Hip Hop Congress Inc., Hip-Hop Education Center, and CDE to address the teacher shortage and retention issues in California schools as well as introduce new industry partnerships that provide educational programming and professional development services for career technical education (CTE) programs in the Arts, Media, and Entertainment industry sector and beyond.

“This collaboration between our orgs is a game changer…” says Marlon Richardson, Education Director and acting Executive Director of Hip Hop For Change. “This is much needed research that will help quantify the efficacy and value of leveraging Hip-Hop culture in the world of education, which in turn can then impact policy and ultimately our communities.”

Through this collaboration, empirical data will be collected; monthly professional learning workshops underscoring culturally-sustaining pedagogy will be offered to the H2E2 Grantees and teaching artists; and an impact report will be generated and released in June 2024 at the annual AME Institute in Burbank. Core elements of the initiative involve recruitment of aspiring Hip-Hop educators, establishment of standard-based curriculum models, launch of student leadership chapters, Hip-Hop enrichment programming, and an ongoing system of support and training for CTE credential candidates and teachers.

Essential to the long-term success and expansion of the H2E2 Initiative is the development of best practices and standards. HHEC in collaboration with Music Will and The Hip-Hop Roundtable made up of experts in the field are currently working on national Hip-Hop Music Education Guidelines. The H2E2 Grantees will be one of the first to use them and provide feedback.

The H2E2 Initiative launched the initial pilot in fall 2020 with specialized grant programs at Compton Unified School District and ICEF View Park Preparatory Charter High School in South Central Los Angeles. The California Department of Education’s Career and College Transition Division awarded two non-competitive grants to the local educational agencies (LEAs) to design and implement a Hip-Hop arts, media and entertainment (AME) pathway program in Professional Music, Professional Dance, Multimedia/Audio Production, Visual/Commercial Arts, and/or Film/Television Production, establish formal partnerships with a community or industry partners, and offer Hip-Hop pedagogical support and resources to industry professionals in the form of credentialing and job obtainment information, classroom observation opportunities, guest teaching placements, professional development resources, and/or professional coaching. At the core of the CTE AME teacher training is a foundational course called Global Awareness Through Hip Hop Culture, authored by View Park Preparatory CTE AME teacher Sebastien Elkouby.

In addition to regional meetings with advisory committee members, H2E2 partners curated three H2E2 professional development institutes, which brought together hundreds of educators, artists, and industry experts to: 1) Share best practices and resources 2) Create opportunities to build culturally responsive programs and 3) Teach relevant skills and competencies. H2E2 is also conducting state-wide surveys to track the interest of teaching artists, existing programs, and the procurement needs of schools and communities.

The H2E2 initiative was launched with a grant from the CDE, and guided by Rahman Jamaal McCreadie, Executive Director of Hip Hop Congress Inc.; Sebastien Elkouby, CTE AME Educator; and Martha Diaz, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Hip-Hop Education Center.

Martha Diaz
Hip-Hop Education Center
+1 917-330-6413
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