Expectations matter. Especially if you want to narrow the educational achievement gap for black and Latino students, according to Tyrone Howard. Once a classroom teacher in his native Compton, California, Howard is now a leading scholar on educational equity. He headed the Counter Narrative study where researchers interviewed more than 200 black and Latino males succeeding in Los Angeles high schools. Howard writes, “This report highlights young men who are the products of high expectations and shines a spotlight on resilient, intelligent, and caring young Black and Latino men across Los Angeles County.” His book Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools is required reading in many teacher education programs. And he’s the founding director of UCLA’s Black Male Institute. One of Howard’s favorite BMI programs invites black male students to the UCLA campus to participate in college preparation and mentoring workshops. Howard explains, “I take mentoring seriously because I know how much I have been a beneficiary of the mentorship of others.”