William D. Ratcliff (1941-) was a counselor within the Ann Arbor Public School system for over 30 years. This collection documents his time within Ann Arbor Public Schools, as well as his work promoting the achievement of African-American youth in the Ann Arbor educational system. The collection is of value to those interested in collections reflecting community efforts to relieve educational disparities seen among minority students and for documentation on how a successful non-profit organization functions. The collection is divided into six series: the Saturday Academy series (divided into 2 subseries, Administrative and Academics), the African-American and Minority Organizations/Programs series, the Educational Organizations/Programs series, the Ann Arbor Public Schools series, the Newspaper Clippings series, and the Audiovisual materials series.
William D. Ratcliff (1941-) was an educator in the Ann Arbor Public School system for over 30 years, spending his career counseling middle school students. In that time, Ratcliff did much to promote the academic success of African-American students in the Ann Arbor Public School district. His crowning achievement was the creation of the Saturday Academy of African American Students.
The Saturday Academy of African American Students was established in 1990 in response to alarming statistics indicating that a large number of African American students in Ann Arbor Public Schools chose not to take college preparatory mathematics and science courses. Moreover, African American students enrolled in core courses achieved much lower scores than their non-African American peers. Determined to reverse these findings, Ratcliff, along with parents, educators, and the Ann Arbor community, developed the Saturday Academy aimed at raising the number of youth prepared to enter and succeed in core, college preparatory mathematics and science classes at the high school level.
The Saturday Academy enrolled sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students primarily from Washtenaw County. Each week, the Saturday Academy provided students with academic instruction, enrichment, and personal and interpersonal skills. Additionally, viewing parental involvement as key to a student's success, the Saturday Academy instituted parent workshops, which encouraged parents to become actively involved in their children's academic careers. More than a supplementary preparatory program, the Saturday Academy established itself as an enriching learning environment in which African American students identified themselves as high achievers who strive for positive personal development. The non-profit organization received financial support from a variety of contributors including the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Eastern Michigan University, the University of Michigan's NASA Space Grant Program, the Ford Motor Company, and many more.
In addition to his work with the Saturday Academy, Ratcliff is a veteran and served as the president of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti chapter of the National Black Child Development Institute, was active in union organizations, and served on numerous school and community committees. Ratcliff retired from the Ann Arbor Public School system in 2004.
