The Call Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) program originated at Clemson University in South Carolina in 2000 with the goal of placing more male teachers from diverse backgrounds into the nation’s classrooms. The program has expanded to 14 colleges and universities in South Carolina and has contributed to a 40 percent increase in the number of Black male teachers in South Carolina public schools.
Roy Jones is the founder and executive director of the Call Me MISTER program at Clemson University. He has been named one of the “Most Creative Teachers in the South” by Oxford American magazine.
Dr. Jones is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He holds a master’s degree in educational psychology from Atlanta University and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Georgia.
In recent years, the Clemson program has also expanded to colleges and universities in Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri, and Georgia. Now, funded by a $200,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the program will be expanded into the state of Mississippi. The Call Me MISTER effort in Mississippi will be located at Jackson State University.
Less than half of young Black males graduate from high school in Mississippi and only 5 percent of the state’s K-12 teachers are Black men.
Here is a video which discusses the Call Me MISTER program:
Congratulations Dr. Roy Jones on the progress and expansion of the Call Me MISTER program. You are demonstrating that even during these times a difference can be made – 40 percent increase in the number of Black male teachers in South Carolina public schools.
I congratulate Dr. Roy Jones for his innovative and effective program to increase the proportion of black males in the classroom.
Call Me Mister Program, in my view ranks alongside, The Voter Registration Act, Affirmative Action policy and programs, the election of President Barack Obama, as the single most powerful program to affect the life chances of not only black young males, but more importantly, the number of black students, whose minds and lives they have, and will impact for good in the years to come.