The mission of Sirtify is to recruit and support Black, African American and African men into elementary and secondary education pathways.
It’s been proven that representation makes a difference in a child’s life. A study published in the American Economic Journal looking at Black boys in the elementary grades showed that those with a Black male teacher were 29% less likely to drop out of school years later and 39% for very low-income Black students. According to the Department of Education, only 2% of teachers in the country are Black men. In Minnesota, just 0.5% of teachers are Black males.Students of color and American Indian students frequently do not have access to teachers who share their ethnic or racial identities. In Minnesota (according to the Minnesota Department of Education), only 5.9% of our teacher workforce identify as teachers of color or American Indian teachers; whereas 36.7% of our students identify as students of color or American Indian students.
The Sirtify program envisions a world where Black, African American, and African men have the tools, skills and support necessary to rewrite the negative narratives placed upon them by society. Our program seeks to empower black men in education to have a positive impact on all students especially those from similar backgrounds.
Sirtify will provide:
If you are a student looking to apply to the program or you would like information on how to support Sirtify, please contact Sirtify Program Coordinator Marvis Kilgore at marvis.kilgore@normandale.edu.
See below for interesting articles describing the impact that Sirtify is having at Normandale.
Sirtfy aims to increase presence of Black male teachres in Minnesota classrooms (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, May 10, 2024)
Students Confirm Black Students Perform Better with Black Teachers. This Minnesota College Program is Targeting Black Men to Increase Their Presence in Classrooms (Atlanta Black Star, April 22, 2022)
Pioneers and Changemakers: Marvis Kilgore (City of Bloomington, April 8, 2022)
Increasing representation in K-12 classrooms (Community College Daily, April 6, 2022)
Normandale program works to increase number of Black teaches in Minnesota (Fox 9, April 4, 2022)
Normandale Seeking Students for Black Men in Teaching Program (KARE-11, February 23, 2022)
Great Expectations for Black Men in Teaching (Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, December 15, 2021)
At Normandale, Marvis Kilgore addresses dearth of Black Men in Teaching (Star Tribune, August 20, 2021)
Sirtify was first known as Black Men in Teaching when the program launched in Fall 2021.
I want the young men going through this program to gain the educational, cultural, social, and career preparation to be resilient so they can be change agents, champions and advocates for all students.
Kilgore is developing the Normandale's Sirtify Program, which offers academic, career, and personal support to Black, African-American, and African men starting their higher education journeys with a goal of becoming licensed K-12 teachers.
Kilgore has been a champion of diversity and equity in the field of education both stateside and abroad. While serving in Teach for America, Kilgore taught elementary bilingual math and science classes to first generation Latin American students and middle school Spanish to a predominately African-American student body in Houston, Texas.
He eventually transitioned to higher education, teaching Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses in the University of Houston system and at Houston Community College, respectively. Kilgore spent nine years in the Middle East where he served as an ESL Lecturer and Program Coordinator at the Community College of Qatar, the only community college in the region, and as an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Lecturer at a British higher education institution. Kilgore holds a B.A. with honors in Foreign Language Education from Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a M.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Mississippi.
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