The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) is a non-profit organization that is devoted to furthering the academic success for the nation's children, especially those children of African ancestry. The NABSE was founded in 1970 and is the nation's largest network of African American educators program. The current conference and membership director is Ed Potillo. The organization reaches out to over 5,000 educators including teachers, administrators, superintendents and also other corporate and institutional members. The NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experiences and accomplishments of African American youth through the development and use of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance and overall achievement. The NABSE promotes programs that deal with professional development, information-sharing on strategies that will help to motivate African American youth and increase their academic performances, and policy advocacy.
The NABSE looks to promote and facilitate the education of all African American students. In order to complete this mission the NABSE has established a coalition of African American educators, administrators and other professionals that are both directly and indirectly involved in the educational system and process. They are also working to create a forum for the exchange of ideas and strategies to improve opportunities for African American educators and students. The NABSE has working programs in place to identify and develop African American professionals who will take on leadership positions in the educational system and influence public policy concerning the education of African Americans.
History
On November 20, 1970, while completing a dissertation examining school systems led by Black superintendents, Dr. Charles D. Moody, Sr. invited several African-American superintendents to a meeting at the O'Hare Marriott Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the meeting was to share concerns, develop a resource pool, and to form an organization of Black school superintendents. Representing the Metropolitan Applied Research Center (MARC), the organization that helped to fund the early meetings, were Hylan Lewis, Director of the Fellowship Program and Dixie Moon, Executive Administrator. Dr. Moody says, "When one is in a struggle or battle, he looks around to see if he is alone. This human characteristic was one of the underlying factors in the formation of the National Alliance of Black School Superintendents." Fifteen superintendents agreed forming an organization was a viable idea. Before that meeting was over in November 22, plans were made to meet again in August 1971 in Miami Beach, Florida. It was during the Miami meeting, the superintendents formally organized the National Alliance of Black School Superintendents (NABSS) - Dr. Russell Jackson was elected president.
In 1972, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Office of Special Concern's Office of African-American Affairs, awarded NABSS a grant to conduct an in-depth research study of 40 school districts headed by African-American superintendents. Dr. Meharry Lewis was the principal investigator for the grant. The study resulted in the development of a set of educational objectives for school districts enrolling predominantly African-American students.
On April 19, 1973, during the presidency of Ulysses Byas, NABSS voted to include administrators and other educational personnel in the organization and changed the organization's name to the Nation Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE). Commissions that linked members with common and related job functions were formed. On November 23, 1973, in Detroit, Michigan, NABSE was formally launched with 284 charter members.
NABSE officially opened its first national office in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 1979. Dorothy Moore, on loan from the Detroit Public Schools, served as the first executive director. William Saunders was both office manager and executive director from 1983 to 1993.
Today, 100 NABSE affiliates throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean perpetuate NABSE's legacy. Their activities include: local, state, and regional conferences; tutoring/coaching sessions; training programs; scholarships; newsletters; recognition programs; position papers; student trips; and monitoring local, state, and federal directives.