The Early Years
The case for the MAC Scholars program began when McGovern was hired by the
District in 1978 with funding from a grant to help implement the PUSH Excel
program, an initiative started by Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition,
to focus attention on African American student achievement. Much of her work
involved meeting with Shaker Heights High School students who were highly
capable, but who needed extra attention and academic support. McGovern
monitored her students’ grades and counseled them on what they needed to do in
order to become high-achieving students.
Then in 1990, the High School created a Faculty Achievement Committee with
the goal of narrowing the achievement gap. At the time, 70 percent of the African
American male students entering their freshman year had a C average or below.
“We knew that we couldn’t have this information in our hands and ignore it,”
McGovern says.
The committee shared the data with a group of eight African American male
students who were juniors enrolled in Honors and Advanced Placement classes. “We
told them that we needed to do something about this, but we needed their help to
understand why this was happening,” she says.
After just one meeting with the students, it was clear the students had a plan
of their own. “They told us that the younger students were tired of listening to their
parents and teachers. They said they didn’t want adults telling them what to do. They
told us that they’ve been in those students’ shoes and said that they needed to lead
and develop the program themselves.”
The MAC Ple dge
I am an African
American and I pledge
to uphold the name and
image of the African
American man. I will
do so by striving for
academic excellence,
conducting myself with
dignity, and respecting
others as if they were
my brothers and sisters.
Right: Hubert McIntyre, MAC Scholars Advisor, has been with
the program since its inception. Today, he is a MAC Scholars
34 FALL 2019 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
advisor at the High School and at the Middle School.
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