Nancy Solomon moved to New Jersey's South Orange-Maplewood School District because she wanted her young son to learn in a progressive, racially integrated public school system. But she soon found that the district, which is 60 percent black, faced the same problem that afflicts districts across America. Black and Hispanic students get worse grades, score lower on standardized tests, and go to college in lower numbers than whites. "Mind the Gap" is the record of her brave, resolutely non-dogmatic attempt to understand why. Is it class? Is it culture? Is it low expectations? Is it a misguided approach to discipline? Whatever it is, can it be fixed?

Solomon visits a black preschool and a white preschool. She meets black parents and white parents. She talks to students, administrators, academics and teachers (one of whom takes her on a surreal tour of Columbia High School, guessing the academic level of each classroom by counting the number of blacks and Hispanics.) Each encounter adds a little to our understanding of the problem -- and, eventually, to a clearer sense of what needs to be done. Near the beginning, she says "I've come to one definitive conclusion: It's complicated." And while the evidence she gathers points in many directions, by the end she has built a strong case for the need for teachers who engage, challenge and support their students. "Mind the Gap" deals head-on with one of this country's biggest, most urgent questions. In this balanced and nuanced exploration, Solomon gives us much to chew on and much to discuss.

From past experience sharing this idea, I know that very few people will see the connection. But maybe persistence will pay off.

Namely, the brain needs good biochemistry to function. That's why antidepressants help the suicidal, and why Ritalin helps kids with ADD.

So what would Mother Nature suggest for closing the Gap? She'd point out that we've been tip toeing around the color issue yet that's a big clue. The more melanin in a person's skin, the longer it takes to make vitamin D. Therefore, if all kids get about the same D in their food but pale kids can make more D from sunlight, they will have better brain chemistry--- better memory, better self control, less asthma and infections and therefore fewer absences (which undermine achievement).

To compensate for making less from the sun, a child of color would benefit from D supplementation. There are very few foods which contain enough D to make a difference. Many foods are fortified, but D2 is used (it's less effective than D3) and the amount is still too low to make much difference.

Sardines can boost a student's D level because we eat almost the whole fish, and therefore we get the D-rich liver. Try sardines with lemon juice or salsa. Believe it or not, when I've offered sardines to my students, about 2/3 of the class ate them, and some kids asked for seconds and even thirds!

Salmon and tuna also have high levels of D, but tuna is very high in mercury and dioxin.

Read about D closing the Gap at:
http://goodschoolfood.org/pdf/D-Light-Full_VitaminD.pdf

This is an important, impressive program. It covers so much ground on what I think is perhaps the most important issue facing the nation. This program is smart and insightful, clear and compelling. I think it's the best explanation and exploration of the racial achievement gap I have ever heard. It goes really deep into so many inter-related issues from preschool education to the problems with tracking in high school to the nuanced and complicated way that race affects student achievement. We get to know students, teachers and administrators at one school, we hear from researchers and advocates, and all of it is carefully and knowledgeably distilled by the producer Nancy Solomon who clearly knows this topic inside and out and presents it all in a thoughtful and appropriately complex way. You should listen to this program, play it for your listeners!

This is why I homeschool my African-American sons. My anxiety level went way up just listening to this piece.

I cannot let schools, society, the media . . . anyone . . . decide how smart my sons are. Education is too important.

In our school district, in researching whether all students should be prepared to go to college--all students said they wanted to go to college.