Cornerstone: A Student of Color Alliance
Overview

Cornerstone, a Student of Color Alliance (formerly known as Blake 101) is a program for students of color that aims to improve the experience and increase the retention of culturally diverse students at Blake.

Currently, Cornerstone is a program at Blake's Upper School about to begin its third year. The current program at the Upper School specifically helps students of color become familiar with expectations at Blake, both academic and social, prior to beginning 9th grade. The program also provides ongoing social and academic support for students throughout their high school years. Cornerstone was begun in 2004 with support from the Blake Diversity Council, Blake Director of Admissions Adaline Shinkle, and Blake Upper School Director Marc Bogursky and operates under the leadership of Blake faculty member Marie Michael.

Cornerstone exists to assist in the adjustment of students of color to Blake's school environment. The program aims to prepare students for both the academic, social, and cultural expectations at Blake by helping them:
1. build academic skills,
2. identify and negotiate the socio-cultural norms at Blake,
3. develop a positive racial identity, and
4. find community and support so they feel emotionally safe and can thus focus on being successful students, fully engaged at Blake academically, athletically and socially.

To ensure success for its students, the Cornerstone program focuses on three specific areas:

1. Building academic skills
Because the workload at Blake's Upper School is much different than a typical public school's or Blake's Middle School's, students are expected to be more disciplined, organized and self-sufficient if they are to be successful. This can be a shock after being in middle school, where there is more consistent guidance from adults. Students who are not adequately prepared for Blake's demanding curriculum — either due to inadequate academic training or lack of organizational skills — face numerous barriers to success at Blake.

To build academic skills Cornerstone students will:
• Attend a summer "jump start" program
• Attend weekly study sessions
• Receive academic support
• Receive resources from the School

2. Identifying and negotiating the cultural norms at Blake and developing a positive racial identity
Although we would like to believe Blake is a safe school for all of our students, a school where all feel at home and accepted and appreciated for who they are, like most independent schools in our nation, it isn't, at least much of the time. In a student's second year with Cornerstone, they will build on the core academic program of the first year in order to better address the cultural challenges students face. One of these challenges is referred to as code-shifting (a term used by Michael Eric Dyson is his book Is Bill Cosby Right?)¹. In order for many students of color to succeed at Blake, they have to be able to shift codes; they have to change their language and behavior to meet that of the white upper class culture at Blake. Then, when they return home or to other communities in which they are a part, they have to shift back to continue to meet those cultural expectations as well. Code-shifting can be difficult and emotionally costly to students. When not addressed head-on, they can begin to devalue one culture over another, or students may even begin to see themselves as "less than" because they may feel like they don't fit anywhere.

Cornerstone student work in this area includes:
• Participate in frank and open discussions about cultural norms, race and cultural background, and the reality of code-shifting
• Receive individual and group support
• Attend the People of Color Conference sponsored by NAIS
• Attend social and cultural outings.

3. Finding Community and Support
Research supports that students of color in independent schools gain confidence and a sense of connectedness when they are able to meet regularly and develop relationships with students like themselves who are struggling with some of the same issues. Thus Cornerstone also serves as an affinity group, for both students and for families, who are learning to navigate the Blake environment.

To build community and support, Cornerstone students will:
• Students will attend a kick-off celebration with their families
• Parents will attend two parent gatherings in the first semester,
• Students will be invited to discuss Blake's social and cultural environment
• Students will be encouraged to form informal bonds with each other

Marie Michael, director of Cornerstone at the Upper School, is an African American woman who was raised in Albuquerque, NM. She attended the University of New Mexico and received her bachelor's degree in English literature. She did graduate work in English at Howard University in Washington D.C., and taught 5th Grade at nearby Norwood School. In 1998, she met her soon-to-be husband and moved to Minneapolis, where she has taught for eight years at Blake Upper School. Marie is volunteer facilitator for the YWCA's dialogues on race, and she co-founded a discussion group for women of color in the Twin Cities. For years, Marie has argued and advocated on behalf of students of color in independent schools and Cornerstone has proven to be an effective manifestation of Marie's passions and concerns.

Kelley Nelson is Blake's director of diversity planning and Upper School family diversity services. She is responsible for executing strategic goals with respect to increasing diversity and cultural competency within the Blake community. She also provides support and advocacy for upper school students and families to ensure that everyone feels welcome, safe and able to fully be themselves at Blake. It is in this capacity that she works closely with Cornerstone. Kelley is from Boston, where she spent seven years with The Steppingstone Foundation, a non-profit organization that prepares highly motivated students with academic potential for acceptance to and success at independent schools. At Steppingstone, Kelley was responsible for supporting more than 300 students and families in their 20 different independent school placements giving her tremendous insight into the experiences of students of color in independent schools and the ways in which schools can best support their students. Kelley holds a bachelors degree in sociology and women's studies from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

In their own words—quotations from Cornerstone students:
"[Cornerstone] lets me know that I can feel good about my color."

"Yes I do fit in [at Blake]. Cornerstone helped me to get to know people before I went to actual school."

"Interacting with other students of color at Cornerstone has helped me because I know I'm not the only one of color, and they make me feel more at home. They're more open."

At Cornerstone "you study with other people, and you teach so it helps you learn. You help each other out."

"Cornerstone provides a fun environment to study and do homework. In a school like Blake, it is nice to be able to spend time with other students of color while being motivated by a teacher of color."

"Cornerstone is a learning environment where I feel comfortable. I love important people we meet and learn from, who show us new opportunities ... Cornerstone has really had an impact on my high school experience. The friends I've made will stick with me."

In their own words—quotations from Cornerstone parents on program evaluations:
"Our family would have experienced fewer tears had there been a Cornerstone when our older daughter attended Blake. This is a step in the right direction."

"It was useful for my child to meet other students of color who maybe had been in independent schools for a while and could help her better understand the expectations of the community."

"The summer sessions helped my daughter connect with other students of color who she may not have connected with otherwise. This ... enabled her to feel more comfortable in a new environment and especially one that would have made for great isolation."

"To be honest, if [Cornerstone were not there] I ... most likely would have sent my [child] to the Wayzata Public Schools [next year]." It was very helpful to have someone listen to me and talk through some of my frustrations."

In their own words—quotations from Blake faculty about the program:
Amie DeHarpporte, Blake Social Studies Faculty: "I worked with a student this year in Cornerstone who was so supported by the program. She did work for my class in her Cornerstone study group, and I know that she got support from Cornerstone students to keep her grades up. I was able to check in with Marie about the struggles she was having at home, and it was great to have a group of faculty working together to support her."

JJ Kahle, Blake Foreign Languages Faculty: "I had several Cornerstone students in my classes this year. It was remarkable how much better connected to other students they were, and particularly with other Cornerstone students in the same class. All of my Cornerstone students were very successful and had a great start to their high school career. I directly attribute an aspect of that success to the program."

Deb Wood, Blake Science Faculty: "The camaraderie that exists among the Cornerstone students is great. Their Monday night study sessions are fun and give them an opportunity to work with each other and with Marie on homework and projects. In addition, Cornerstone is a fantastic support system for all the students and gives teachers a point person to tell their concerns so they get addressed."

Lee Woolman, Blake English Faculty: "Marie's incredible commitment and the students' support of each other allowed my Cornerstone students to be self-confidently themselves — a small step toward the real diversity behind our brochures."

Jen Vance, Blake Freshman Dean: "Cornerstone is a program that allowed students to grow as students as well as people. They were connected to a caring, dedicated adult who knew them well enough to challenge them to reach to their potential and who supported them when most in need. Cornerstone created a safe environment that showed kids how to depend on each other as well as themselves. The program is a significant part of shaping these 9th graders' Blake experience and will continue to directly affect their success and happiness here."

• As an institution, Blake is committed to helping all students be successful. Cornerstone is exclusive to students of color. It was created because we have found that many students of color at Blake benefit from being a part of an affinity group that also provides other methods of support. This reality is supported by research done in independent schools nationally. Despite our continued work on becoming a more diverse institution, because of race, many students of color at Blake have a different experience than white students, and often need a different kind of support. It's also important for them to build relationships with people like them, both students and adults in the community.
  
  Students of color need support as they learn how to:
  • "code-shift"— learning the cultural expectations and then successfully adapting while not losing a sense of themselves and maintaining a strong connection to "home";
  • see themselves through varied lenses, dealing with stereotypes and assumptions both at school and at home, seeing their identities and culture in new ways, yet continuing to develop a positive racial identity;
  • navigate class issues;
  • fill in academic gaps and adjust to Blake's academic norms and expectations.
  
  
• However, white students can take advantage of many other support services at Blake's Upper School: academic deans, the learning specialist, advisors, High School 101 and SIAC peer tutors.

• We have found over the last few years, and research in independent schools supports, that many students of color benefit from being part of an affinity group that also offers other kinds of needed support (be that academic, social, cultural, etc).
• Your child may not be interested in joining Cornerstone, but as a School we're committed to making sure families know the program exists and have an opportunity to be a part of it.
• Blake is committed to becoming a diverse community and one whose members are culturally competent. Part of that commitment for us is realizing that students have different needs and, therefore, need different kinds of support in order to be successful here.