Disclosing the Design of an African American Educational Technology: Bridge: A Cross Culture Reading Program

Abstract

Produced in 1977, Bridge: A Cross Culture Reading Program could have transformed what we presently know as urban education. However, Bridge met with the disapproval of parents, communities, and school districts. The execution of a truly transformative curriculum died as an experimental project implemented in urban school districts. This article documents the transformative nature of Bridge as an educational technology that could have better educated African American youth. Bridge was designed as an intervention reading program that sought to improve the reading levels of black junior and senior high school students in America’s public schools. The program was normed for “inner city” black students in grades 7-12 who were reading between 2nd and 4th grade levels. A text and context analysis and interviews with the designers are offered to provide details surrounding the construction of Bridge: A Cross Culture Reading Program. This is the story of its design, designers, and dormancy.