A new statewide group aims to help Black children reach academic excellence.

The roots

National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) is a nonprofit organization centered around the belief that “education is a civil right.” 

In 1970, a group of Black school superintendents met to pool resources and support one another. The National Alliance of Black School Superintendents (NABSS) was born from that meeting. In 1973, the organization shifted to become more inclusive, and it was henceforth known as the National Alliance of Black School Educators. 

NABSE has affiliate chapters across the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean.

Local NABSE history 

NABSE’s work is well-known to many Black veteran Indiana educators. In the past, there was a Fort Wayne affiliate and an Indianapolis affiliate in the state.

The Indianapolis affiliate (IABSE) was around for over a decade until the organization ceased operations a few years before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Cathi Cornelius, Marian University Klipsch Educators College professor, was the last president of the IABSE and held that role for nearly a decade. 

Before her tenure as president, other well-known Black educators, such as Michael Chisley, Dante Brown, and Dr. Frankie Cooper, served in the president role.

“I’m a national NABSE member. When I moved to a city, I always joined the local chapter. When I moved to Indianapolis in 1999, there wasn’t a chapter yet,” said Cornelius.

She expressed great joy about the statewide affiliate and shared some of the accomplishments of the Indianapolis affiliate.

“In 2009, Indianapolis hosted the national NABSE conference. We had 2,300-2,500 educators come here from across the country. Dr. Pat Payne and I served as the conference co-chairs. What was important about the Indianapolis affiliate was the networking and focusing on a common agenda. I look forward to supporting INABSE as a historian with Pat Payne,” Cornelius said.

Launch of a statewide affiliate

The inaugural meeting of the NABSE’s Indiana affiliate, INABSE, took place in Lawrence Township on November 16 at Lawrence Central High School from 5-7 p.m. Nine people attended virtually, and 39 people attended in-person.

Dr. Smith, Lawrence Township Superintendent said, “What most excites me about INABSE is the opportunity to bring additional resources to our state which focus on African American student achievement. NABSE has a long history of success in providing high-quality professional development, resources, and support to educators across the United States. Indiana now has the opportunity to leverage that network and accompanying resources to become a leader in supporting the achievement of Black students.”

Dr. Yvonne Stokes, former superintendent of Hamilton Southeastern Schools, was elected INABSE president. Other officers elected were as follows:

• Vice President – Dr. Debra Faye Williams-Robbins, Fort Wayne Community Schools Deputy Superintendent
• Treasurer – Arthur Hinton, Lew Wallace School 107 Principal 
• Financial Secretary – Dr. Justin Hunter, MSD of Pike Township HR Director
• Recording Secretary – Tonia Brewer
• Correspondence Secretary – Dr. Bridgette Robinson, IPS Director of Federal and Special Programs 
• Historian – Dr. Cathi Cornelius, Marian University Professor 
• Historian – Dr. Patricia Payne, IPS Office of Racial Equity and Inclusion Director

These officers are interim for year one and will help the organization get off the ground.

Mildred Guyse attended the inaugural meeting and joined INABSE. She was an active member of the Indianapolis affiliate for several years. After retiring from the K-12 setting after 34 years of service, she transitioned into teaching at Marian University. Currently, she supervises Marian University student teachers. 

She reflected on her time serving within the Indianapolis affiliate. “I enjoyed what we did. We used to give out scholarships. We had workshops and had Black education majors share what they wished they would have seen in their education programs.”

Additionally, for INABSE, she shared she is most looking forward to “helping teach teachers how to teach the truth in the classroom.”

Guyse is not the only Black educator who participated in IABSE and has joined INABSE. Dr. Gwendolyn Kelley, who served as the Indianapolis affiliate recording secretary, joined the Indiana affiliate in addition to Dr. Patricia Payne.

Payne, IPS Office of Racial Equity and Inclusion Director, shared, “I’m most excited to know we are reactivating NABSE in Indiana because we need all hands on deck to address the crisis we are experiencing in the lack of educational excellence for our brilliant Black children due to low expectations, negative stereotypes, false assumptions, and corrupted belief systems.”

Kelley, an education consultant and former Research Associate at the IU Equity Project, sees great potential for INABSE.

“This is a powerful opportunity for Black administrators and teachers to lift their voices, share practices that work, and build an honest statewide dialogue and collaborative movement to uplift the academic achievement of our Black students across our state where only 10.9% of Black students in Grades 3-8 passed both English/language arts and math combined, and 8.1% of those who took the SAT at Grade 11 met the same combined benchmarks for SAT performance. INABSE can make a difference in helping the public understand why this is happening and also support policies and strategies that will improve outcomes for our Black children and their overall readiness for Indiana’s workforce in the future,” said Kelley.

The national push

Thandabantu Maceo, president of the Ohio affiliate and the NABSE midwest representative, shared there was a push from NABSE’s national office to add more statewide NABSE affiliates to the network. Maceo stated, “There was a very deliberate and very conscious charge to build up our state and local structures. There are only a handful of statewide affiliates that are in existence. The Ohio affiliate has existed for over 40 years. For many states, the statewide structure is fairly new.”

NABSE is more than an organization focused on Black educators. 

“While NABSE is most definitely charged with helping our Black educators, our primary focus is on supporting Black and Brown children. To that charge, anybody, no matter your race or ethnicity, who wants to help our Black and Brown children, we accept that support,” said Dr. Yvonne Stokes.

When asked which area will be an area of focus for Black Indiana students, Stokes said literacy. “Literacy has to be our focus. Literacy is the gatekeeper for many things. We need to help students read and be able to move them forward.”

Although the organization is new, the groundwork is being done to intentionally recruit veteran and new educators into the organization. 

“Dr. Woodson (superintendent of Washington Township) had a callout meeting for anyone who was interested, and Mr. Maceo and I presented. We shared our goals, information about the conference in April, and how we can support them,” said Stokes.

How to get involved

Educators interested in joining INABSE can join by going to the Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators’ website. The membership page will be housed here until the INABSE website is launched.

According to Maceo, as of this publication, there are approximately 40 educators who are INABSE members.

Additionally, the 10th annual Midwest Regional Education Conference will take place in Columbus, Ohio, from April 24-27, 2024.

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