In July 2002, we held our first, two-day summer institute entitled “Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy: Strategies for Successfully Reaching African American Students” in partnership with Stanford University’s School Re-design Network and with the full support of Professor Linda Darling-Hammond. Our keynote practitioner was Dr. Robert Moses, MacArthur Fellow and author of the acclaimed Algebra Project. Our other presenters were: Enomwoyi Booker, Bay Region IV Professional Development Consortium Coordinator; Dr. Barbara Ford, Professor in the Department of Black Studies and Elementary Education at San Francisco State University; and Ann Ifekwunigwe, Carnegie Foundation Scholar, National Board Certified Teacher and Co-Director of UCLA’s National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Project. We had planned to have 60 participants. Due to demand, we reached capacity at 90 and had to turn many people away.

In June 2003, we held our second annual, two-day summer institute again in partnership with Stanford University and Dr. Darling-Hammond. The keynote practitioner was Dr. Beverly Daniel-Tatum, President of Spelman College and author of the best-selling book called Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Classroom and Other Conversations About Race. Our other presenters were: Dr. Karlton Hester, University of California at Santa Cruz Director of Jazz Studies; and Dr. Jennifer Obidah, UCLA Professor in the School of Education and author of the popular book entitled Because of the Kids: Facing Racial and Cultural Differences in Schools. We had planned for 90 participants and was beyond capacity at 120. Once again, we had to turn people away.

In June 2004, more than 140 participants attended our third annual two-day summer institute at Stanford. Our keynote practitioner was Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the highly-acclaimed book entitled Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. Our two other presenters were Dr. Reginald Clark, lecturer in the Dept. of Child and Family Studies at CSU Los Angeles and author of Family Life and School Achievement: Why Poor Black Children Succeed or Fail and Glenn Singleton, Founder and President/CEO of Pacific Educational Group and developer of the nationally-acclaimed Beyond Diversity training and “Courageous Conversation” culturally proficient curriculum, instruction and assessment.

In June 2005, our fourth annual Summer Institute attracted a record-breaking 175+ participants. Our keynote practitioner was Dr. Pedro Noguera, professor in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. Our other presenters were: Dr. Noma LeMoine, Director of Los Angeles Unified School District's noted Academic English Mastery Program; and Dale Allender, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Associate Executive Director for the Secondary Level and Director of NCTE West.

In June 2006, we celebrated our fifth anniversary with Dr. Wade Nobles, Founder/Executive Director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family Life and Culture, keynoting. Our second presenter was Dr. Joyce King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership at Georgia State University. Back by popular demand was Dr. Noma LeMoine.

In June 2007, our institute attracted the largest number of attendees to date when 184 people listened to our keynote practitioner, Dr. Lisa Delpit, Florida International University's Knight Eminent Scholar and Executive Director for the Center for Urban Education and Innovation. Our other presenters were Dr. Joseph Johnson, QUALCOMM Professor of Urban Education and Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation at San Diego State University, and Dr. Edwin Javius, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EDEquity, Inc

In June 2008, the number of attendees (70) dropped dramatically due to California's budget crisis, but the caliber of participants reflected the CAAAE's success in helping generate extensive courageous conversations about race and schooling when key leaders from the California Department of Education (CDE) were actively involved in the institute. We chose to focus on models of excellence - places and practices
that yield positive outcomes for African American learners. The keynote practitioner was Dr. Sharroky Hollie, one of the founders of the Culture and Language Academy of Success (CLAS) charter school in Los Angeles. Rounding out the institute were Dr. John Browne, Adjunct Professor in Africana Studies at San Diego State University, who coined the phrase "culturally courageous leadership," and Dr. Denise Collier of
the Academic English Mastery Program/Closing the Achievement Gap Branch in Los Angeles Unified School District whose pioneering research focuses on the "punishment gap" between black boys and all other subgroups.

In October 2003, we launched our first annual membership breakfasts in four regions. Very well-attended in each region, we doubled our membership to 500 people in that one month. Each breakfast featured outstanding panelists (in Fresno) and keynote speakers in Sacramento (Dr. Odie Douglas, Principal of the new Franklin High School in Elk Grove), Bay Area (Glenn Singleton of the nationally-acclaimed Beyond Diversity training) and Los Angeles (Dr. George McKenna of the HBO special about how he turned around Washington High School in Los Angeles).

In February 2004, we co-sponsored a similar breakfast with the San Diego Urban League. Nearly 150 people attended that very successful event. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Ronald O. Ross, former superintendent of the Mount Vernon, New York school district and currently the Dr. Israel Tribble Distinguished Fellow for Urban Education Reform with the National Urban League. Dr. Ross gave a riveting speech about how he transformed that failing district into New York’s most improved in four short years.

In October 2004, five regional membership breakfasts attracted nearly 400 participants including 200 new members for the CAAAE! Our Fresno Region Breakfast featured a panel of high school students from Edison Computech High School sharing their thoughts regarding the theme, “Brown v.Board of Education: Our Youth Speak Out!” The Bay Area Breakfast featured Issac J. Vaughn, Attorney and Partner at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati,
who discussed Brown v. Board and how to prepare students of color for roles in Silicon Valley's board rooms. The theme for our San Diego Region Breakfast, produced in partnership with the Urban League of San Diego County, was “Best Academic Practice Models” and included a panel discussion with: Dr. Doris Alvarez, Principal, the Preuss School at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); Dr. Cecil Lytle, Provost, Thurgood Marshall College at UCSD; Larry Rosenstock, Principal, High Tech High in San Diego; and Dr. Joseph Watson, Vice Chancellor - Student Affairs at UCSD. Our Sacramento Region Breakfast featured Fire Chief Julius Joseph Cherry who spoke to the theme, “Protect and Defend: Brown v. Board of Education” and also included special recognition for a Sacramento County Teacher of the Year and California State Teacher of the Year. Our Los Angeles Basin Breakfast, held at the new California Science Center School and the Center for Science Learning, featured Dr. Toni-Mokjaetji Humber, Associate Professor, Ethnic and Women's Studies Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, who shared insights about her research--"Where Black Is Brown: The African Diaspora of Mexico."

CAAAE South Africa Tour
CAAAE President Debra Watkins lead a team of educators on a 15-day tour of South Africa and introduced them to the schools that our organization has adopted. The team visited Durban, Soweto, Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Book and school supplies collected here in the states were distributed by the team to South African schools adopted by the CAAAE.

This math, science and technology initiative for African American students was actually started in 1999 by Debra Watkins,while she was president of the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators, and two individuals from another non-profit. Originally called the Dr. George Washington Carver Scholars Program, it was adopted by Intel and became the Intel Carver Scholars Program (ICSP). At its height, we served 254 students from throughout Santa Clara County. After three years as coordinator of the highly-successful ICSP, Debra resigned and started the Dr. Frank S. Greene Scholars Program (GSP) after the ICSP ceased to exist.

Named after Dr. Frank S. Greene, Jr. , a pioneering African American scientist who is now one of the Bay Area’s few African American venture capitalists, the GSP focuses on Exploring Self and Society, Exploring Science and Math, and Exploring Technology. Nearly 80% of the families in the ICSP enrolled in the GSP in 2002. Determined to focus on quality, not quantity, the GSP is capped at 75 students who we will follow until they graduate from high school. The main goal of the GSP is to increase the number of African American students pursuing careers related to math, science or technology.

Greene Scholars participate in our Annual Science Fair, a career awareness experience hosted by a prominent Silicon Valley corporate partner, MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) through San Jose State University, the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship, and numerous academic enrichment, character development and cultural enrichment programs throughout the year. Our graduates currently attend Harvey Mudd College, Howard University, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T University, the University of Bridgeport, Santa Clara University, the University of California at Davis, Las Vegas Community College and San Jose City College. Parents play an active role in the Greene Scholars Program through volunteer, operations advisory and fundraising activities.