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of this child, both with advanced college degrees, one with a Ph.D. requested that their son take this higher order sixth grade math class. The young man had exceptional MAP scores that showed a high level of math and science aptitude, all the things necessary for placement. It was the teachers who wanted to block him from taking the class, siting an illusive mention about the amount of homework. The parents insisted, the young man entered the class, performed very well and as a high school freshman, took Geometry. The point of this little story is that at the transition from 6th grade to the middle school grades happens, there are more gatekeepers, steering, and targeting of black students for the more general classes and the white students for the more advanced classes that lead to honors classes in high school.

Parents have to gain the voice to be their child's best advocate. The parents noted in the little story went to the school, the counselors, and insisted that their son be given the chance to take the higher order math classes. Their point was that if he takes it and fails, then at least he had the challenge, if he is blocked from taking the class, they would never know. This same student will take Honors Chemistry as a sophmore and has his high school courses mapped out by his parents to include more honors and AP courses.

One of the other things parents can do to close the achievement gap is homeschool or jointly enroll their child in online schools such as the Connection Academy. In some states, such as Missouri, parents can enroll their K-5th grade child for free supplemental courses if they are already in a public or private school. These courses are also available if the parent chooses to homeschool. Again, parents are the number one advocate for their child's education.

Local, state, and federal governments play a role because the condition of the schools is directly related to the property taxes. The taxes should be normalized and equalized across school districts, particularly when comparing suburban and urban schools. The vast majority of black students attend public schools in an urban district. Some, like St. Louis Public Schools, have lost accreditation, have suffered through lower enrollment due to charter, private, and more well off students leaving the system. Urban schools do not all have the shiny new Apple computers in the the classrooms and labs like the suburban schools. They are lacking in basic supplies such as new textbooks and

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