WXYZ-TV, 10/2
Wayne State University's Morris Hood Scholars Program making inroads
By Carolyn Clifford
By 2024 students of color are expected to make up 56 percent of the student population but when you look in front of the classroom the majority - 82 percent - of the teachers and principals are white. However, a program at Wayne State University is on a mission to change that picture. The mission of the Morris Hood Scholars program is to place teachers in urban schools to show students who look like them they too can be successful despite the hardships of life. Doug Whitman is the Dean of Wayne State's College of Education. He says, their teaching laboratory is the Detroit School Systems and DPS is where they learn to teach and if they can get through WSU's program they can teach anywhere. Fifty-three males are selected each year. Scholars take classes, do community service, workshops and participate in professional conferences. More than 90 percent stay with the program and complete degrees.