Former Linebacker Dwight Roberson Boosts Graduation Rate For Oregon District’s Black Students
Dwight Roberson first came to Oregon to play football, but now the former linebacker has made his way into the Salem-Keizer School District, and administrators are crediting him for the highest graduation rate of Black students in at least a decade.
Roberson’s day-to-day influences are to “serve as a role model, cheerleader, coach and all-around helper for black students who might need support,” and he looks after nearly 400 Black students at every high school in Salem-Keizer, although some schools require more attention than others.
He also watches over students’ missing assignments, grades, schedule changes, and if they are on the right track to graduate.
“If I’m driving and I see one of my students walking, they definitely get picked up and taken to school,” he told the Salem Reporter.
The former New Orleans Saints linebacker occasionally visits his students’ homes to connect with them one on one if he hasn’t seen them attending classes.
When it comes to student demographics, 40 percent of Salem-Keizer students are Latino, just shy of 50% are white, and only 1% are Black.
Two schools Roberson focuses his attention on the most in McKay High School and North High, which have the most Black students attending either schools in the entire district.
“When students of color have teachers of color, in addition, both students of color and white students report having positive perceptions of their teachers of color, including feeling cared for and academically challenged,” said Desiree Carver-Thomas, a researcher at the Learning Policy Institute.
Salem-Keizer also praises Roberson for starting a Black Student Union club at every high school where students can gather to learn about Black history and other role models who look like them.
Reports as early as 2009 show that between 50 and 60 percent of Black high school seniors graduate on time, but as of 2019 the graduation rate increased to 70% with 32 out of 50 of the district’s Black seniors earning either a standard or alternate high school diploma.
With high school graduations just months away, it is hopeful that the continuous fundamentals that Roberson has placed in each of his student’s lives will ensure that a cap and gown are not even a question.
