The following originally aired on KQED-FM and published on Turnstyle News.

In 2009, more than half of the African-American males who started high school in Oakland, California never graduated. Pendarvis Harshaw joined Oakland Unified School District's African American Male Achievement Initiative to reverse that trend.

By: Pendarvis Harshaw

The phrase "I don't give an F-Bomb" resonates throughout high school hallways every day, especially in Oakland public schools. Which begs the question: how do you get students to actually give a flying F-bomb?

The numbers show that young black men drop out of school at higher rates, and are more likely to be incarcerated than other groups. Earlier this year I worked as an educator in the Oakland schools, in a pilot program designed to prevent young black men from dropping out. My students, all freshmen in high school, were in my class because of discipline issues, low attendance, or academic shortcomings. We called our class the Young Lion’s Lair.

To maintain focus, we did pushups. We did wall sits. We did sets of 20 jumping jacks. And everyone had to stop at the same time, or else we’d do it again.

At the start of class- we’d toss around a tennis ball and review the prior day’s lesson. And at the end of class- we’d toss around that same ball and review what we learned that day.

Side Hustlin'- The first episode of Youth Radio's series about those extra money getting hustles we get into when our pockets get empty. New Options Host Venus Morris interviews Howard University Senior Pendarvis Harshaw about what he did to make ends meet during the last school year.