How we can help the "forgotten middle" reach their full potential

So, I want to talk to you
about the forgotten middle.

To me, they are the students,
coworkers and plain old regular folks

who are often overlooked

because they're seen
as neither exceptional nor problematic.

They're the kids we think we can ignore

because their needs for support
don't seem particularly urgent.

They're the coworkers

who actually keep the engines
of our organizations running,

but who aren't seen as the innovators
who drive excellence.

In many ways, we overlook
the folks in the middle

because they don't keep us
up awake at night

wondering what crazy thing
they're going to come up with next.

(Laughter)

And the truth is that we've come to rely
on their complacency

and sense of disconnection

because it makes our work easier.

You see, I know a little bit
about the forgotten middle.

As a junior high school student,
I hung out in the middle.

For a long time,
I had been a good student.

But seventh grade was a game changer.

I spent my days gossiping, passing notes,

generally goofing off with my friends.

I spent my homework time on the phone,
reviewing each day's events.

And in many ways, although I was
a typical 12-year-old girl,

my ambivalence about my education
led to pretty average grades.

Luckily for me, my mother understood
something important,

and that was that my location
was not my destination.

As a former research librarian
and an educator,

my mother knew that I was capable
of accomplishing a lot more.

But she also understood

that because I was a young
black woman in America,

I might not have opportunities
out of the middle

if she wasn't intentional
about creating them.

So she moved me to a different school.

She signed me up for leadership
activities in my neighborhood.

And she began to talk to me more seriously

about college and career options
I could aspire to.

My mother's formula for getting me
out of the middle was pretty simple.

She started with high expectations.

She made it her business to figure out
how to set me up for success.

She held me accountable

and, along the way,
she convinced me that I had the power

to create my own story.

That formula didn't just help me
get out of my seventh grade slump --

I used it later on in New York City,

when I was working with kids
who had a lot of potential,

but not a lot of opportunities
to go to and complete college.

You see, high-performing students

tend to have access
to additional resources,

like summer enrichment activities,

internships,

and an expansive curriculum

that takes them out of the classroom
and into the world

in ways that look great
on college applications.

But we're not providing
those kinds of opportunities for everyone.

And the result isn't just
that some kids miss out.

I think we, as a society, miss out too.

You see, I've got a crazy theory
about the folks in the middle.

I think there are some unclaimed
winning lottery tickets in the middle.

I think the cure for cancer
and the path to world peace

might very well reside there.

Now, as a former middle school teacher,

I'm not saying that magically everyone
is suddenly going to become an A student.

But I also believe
that most folks in the middle

are capable of a lot more.

And I think people stay in the middle
because that's where we relegated them to

and, sometimes, that's just
where they're kind of chilling

while they figure things out.

All of our journeys

are made up of a series of rest stops,
accelerations, losses and wins.

We have a responsibility to make sure

that one's racial, gender, cultural
and socioeconomic identity

is never the reason you didn't have
access out of the middle.

So, just as my mother did with me,

I began with high expectations
with my young people.

And I started with the question.

I stopped asking kids,
"Hey, do you want to go to college?"

I started asking them,

"What college would you like to attend?"

You see, the first question --

(Applause)

The first question leaves
a lot of vague possibilities open.

But the second question

says something about what I thought
my young people were capable of.

On a basic level,

it assumes that they're going to
graduate from high school successfully.

It also assumed

that they would have
the kinds of academic records

that could get them college
and university admissions.

And I'm proud to say
that the high expectations worked.

While black and Latinx students

nationally tend to graduate from college
in six years or less,

at a percent of 38,

we were recognized by the College Board

for our ability not to just
get kids into college,

but to get them through college.

(Applause)

But I also understand
that high expectations are great,

but it takes a little bit more than that.

You wouldn't ask a pastry chef
to bake a cake without an oven.

And we should not be asking
the folks in the middle to make the leap

without providing them with the tools,
strategies and support they deserve

to make progress in their lives.

A young woman I had been
mentoring for a long time, Nicole,

came to my office one day,

after her guidance counselor
looked at her pretty strong transcript

and expressed utter shock and amazement

that she was even interested
in going to college.

What the guidance counselor didn't know
was that through her community,

Nicole had had access
to college prep work,

SAT prep and international
travel programs.

Not only was college in her future,

but I'm proud to say that Nicole
went on to earn two master's degrees

after graduating from Purdue University.

(Applause)

We also made it our business
to hold our young people accountable,

but also to instill a sense
of accountability in those young people

to themselves, to each other,
to their families and their communities.

We doubled down
on asset-based youth development.

We went on leadership retreats

and did high ropes courses
and low ropes courses

and tackled life's biggest
questions together.

The result was that the kids
really bought into the notion

that they were accountable
for achieving these college degrees.

It was so gratifying to see the kids
calling each other and texting each other

to say, "Hey, why are you late
for SAT prep?"

And, "What are you packing
for the college tour tomorrow?"

We really worked to kind of make
college the thing to do.

We began to create programs
on college campuses

and events that allow young people
to really visualize themselves

as college students and college graduates.

Me and my staff
rocked our own college gear

and had lots of fun, healthy competition
about whose school was better than whose.

The kids really bought into it,

and they began to see that something more
was possible for their lives.

Not only that -- they could look around
at that college-going community

and see kids who came
from the same backgrounds

and the same neighborhoods,

and who were aspiring to the same things.

That sense of belonging was really key,

and it showed up in a remarkable,
beautiful way one day

when we were in the Johannesburg airport,
waiting to go through customs

on our way to Botswana
for a service learning trip.

I saw a group of kids
kind of huddled in a circle.

Usually, with teens,
that means something's going on.

(Laughter)

So I kind of walked up behind the kids

to figure out what they were
talking about.

They were comparing passport stamps.

(Laughter)

And they were dreaming out loud
about all the other countries

they planned to visit in the future.

And seeing these young people
from New York City

go on to not just become college students,

but to participate
in study abroad programs,

and to then take jobs around the world,

was incredibly gratifying.

When I think of my kids

and all the doctors, lawyers,
teachers, social workers,

journalists and artists

who came from our little nook
in New York City,

I hate to think
of what would have happened

if we hadn't invested in the middle.

Just think about all
that their communities and the world

would have missed out on.

This formula for the middle
doesn't just work with young people.

It can transform
our organizations as well.

We can be more bold

in coming up and articulating a mission
that inspires everyone.

We can authentically
invite our colleagues to the table

to come up with a strategy
to meet the mission.

We can give meaningful feedback
to folks along the way,

and -- and sometimes most importantly --

make sure that you're sharing credit
for everyone's contributions.

What happened when my staff
aimed high for themselves

is that what they were able
to do for young people

was pretty transformational.

And it's been so wonderful to look back
and see all of my former colleagues

who've gone on to get doctorates

and assume leadership roles
in other organizations.

We have what it takes to inspire
and uplift the folks in the middle.

We can extend love
to the people in the middle.

We can challenge our own biases
about who deserves a hand-up, and how.

We can structure our organizations,
communities and institutions

in ways that are inclusive
and that uphold principles of equity.

Because, in the final analysis,
what is often mistaken for a period

is really just a comma.

Thank you.

(Applause)