We are so proud of Counselor Dr. Shelby T. Wyatt from Kenwood Academy! If you see him in the hallway be sure to say “congratulations.” For those of you who do not know Dr. Wyatt, he is a counselor at Kenwood Academy and he won the National Advocacy Award for Family/Community Empowerment. He was given this award for his work with the Brotherhood Program.

What is the Brotherhood?
The Brotherhood is male mentoring group that started 5-years ago when 2 seniors approached Dr. Wyatt about organizing a student male group at Kenwood. It’s a group that helps students with their schoolwork and also helps students get on track for college. It provides students with the support they need to develop to their full potential. It started with 10 seniors mentoring 25 freshmen in 2004. Currently, over 100 young men mentor all grade levels.

The Brotherhood recently received the “Heroes in the Hood” award from the DuSable Museum for assisting elementary and high schools create male mentoring organizations.

For more information please visit their website at: http://www.kenwoodbrotherhood.org/index.htm

Also…the 5th annual Culminating Awards Ceremony will be held at Kenwood on Thursday, May 8, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. in the main auditorium. Everyone is invited to attend and celebrate a year’s worth of developing men out of boys!

Dr. Shelby T. Wyatt, Professional School Counselor
Kenwood Academy High School

Dr. Wyatt’s doctoral dissertation was entitled “Measuring the Effectiveness of an Afrocentric Male Mentoring program with adolescent African American Males.” This was the initial foundation of the Brotherhood Program.

Dr. Wyatt has assisted the following schools in creating all-male student organizations: Reavis Elementary, Chicago International Charter Schools – Northtown, Phoenix Military Academy, Prosser High School, Bowen High School, Proviso West High School and Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas. They volunteer at Shoesmith Elementary and North Kenwood Oakland Charter Schools.

He also was instrumental in creating the CPS Male Initiative Project which is a collaboration of CPS schools that have male mentoring programs. Three times a year male student development conferences are held to address/resolve issues that are affecting their academic and social progress.