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Leaders in some of the nation鈥檚 big-city school districts say they have new momentum鈥攃reated by attention from President Barack Obama鈥攖o tackle one of the most vexing problems in urban schools: improving academic outcomes for African-American and Latino boys.

But despite the president鈥檚 high-profile call for action to improve the lives of boys of color in his 鈥淢y Brother鈥檚 Keeper鈥� initiative, doing so remains a monumental task for educators. There are no new federal funds to bring to bear, nor is there certainty that the current national focus on the well-being of minority boys will outlast the Obama administration.

Still, 62 big-city school systems鈥�61 of them members of the Washington-based Council of the Great City Schools鈥�joined the White House initiative this past summer, with a pledge to ramp up their efforts to steer boys of color to higher achievement, better graduation rates, and more successful lives. In the months since, district leaders from Long Beach, Calif., to Anchorage have been reassessing existing programs, partnering with local businesses and governments, and calling for honest conversations about the role race plays in their policies and practices.

While many of the strategies under way are not necessarily novel, district leaders said the collective impact of dozens of school systems working to improve achievement for boys of color holds promise.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just one district that鈥檚 moving on its own,鈥� said Felton Williams, a member of the Long Beach school board. 鈥淭hey are moving as part of a collective whole. The difference with what you鈥檙e seeing now is synergy. Everybody is rowing the boat in the same direction.鈥�

District Strategies

The Toledo, Ohio, school district, for example, has made its pledge to close the academic achievement gap between minority boys and other students part of its official policy manual. Minneapolis hired an achievement officer who is responsible for developing programs and strategies to chip away at the achievement gap in that district.

And before President Obama called improving the lives of young men of color a 鈥渕oral issue for our country,鈥� when he announced 鈥淢y Brother鈥檚 Keeper,鈥� the Dayton, Ohio, district had already begun its program to do just that.

The new compact calls for districts to increase the number of minority boys who are succeeding both academically and socially; develop early-intervention strategies; increase graduation rates; reduce absenteeism; cut disproportionate suspension and disciplinary rates; and increase participation in Advanced Placement, honors, and gifted classes.

At the council鈥檚 annual conference in Milwaukee late last month, district leaders used a symposium that focused exclusively on the achievement gap for boys of color to discuss their own strategies, swap ideas, and get advice on how to improve efforts.

The council鈥檚 own analysis of scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress is one measure of the wide disparity in performance between minority boys and their white peers.

In 4th grade reading, for example, the mean score for black and Latino boys in urban districts was significantly lower than for white students鈥攚ith African-American boys鈥� scores flatlined at 200 (out of a possible 500 points) since 2009. For white 4th graders, the mean score didn鈥檛 budge much since 2009 either, but was still higher at 229 in 2013. Michael D. Casserly, the council鈥檚 executive director, said his team will collect the districts鈥� detailed plans for improving achievement for minority boys and help fine-tune them.

鈥淲e have developed a set of statistical indicators on which we will hold ourselves accountable for whether or not the work that we do actually improves performance for African-American and Hispanic males,鈥� Mr. Casserly said.

That will include collecting data from the districts on key measures such as 3rd grade reading proficiency, attendance, suspension rates, and course-completion rates, said Raymond C. Hart, the council鈥檚 research director.

Mr. Casserly urged the group鈥檚 members to keep their commitment. He is responsible for reporting to the White House on their progress.

But Andy Smarick, a partner at the Washington-based Bellwether Education Partners, called the strategies a 鈥渞ehash鈥� of earlier attempts that have failed to improve urban schools鈥� performance.

鈥淭hese efforts are not enough, and I just get frustrated that we continue to play small ball when so many lives are at stake,鈥� Mr. Smarick said.

The districts that are forging ahead have reported some successes with previous efforts, but acknowledge they still have work to do. Chief among their challenges: paying for intervention programs and asking school personnel to confront possible personal biases.

Lasting Impacts?

Some districts, like the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina, have set up centers where suspended students can take classes. In the Norfolk, Va., district, high schools have graduation coaches who monitor attendance and course data, enroll students in credit recovery programs, and knock on doors to find out why students aren鈥檛 coming to school. And the Toledo district formed an ACT task force, extended the school day for junior high school students who were taking classes to prepare for the ACT college entrance exam, and petitioned to have their schools serve as testing centers.

San Francisco鈥檚 school district uses a blind review process for admission to special education services that strips the applications of students鈥� names, ethnicity, and grade level鈥攁 strategy that Superintendent Richard Carranza said is helping drive down disproportionate rates of minority boys in special education.

But there is skepticism about the lasting impacts of some initiatives. Van Henri White, the president of the school board in Rochester, N.Y., said many worthy plans are under way, but he worries about maintaining them given the high turnover in urban school leadership. Further, he said, too many strategies leave out parents.

鈥淚f we are going to successfully build that bridge, it has to be properly anchored with teachers and educators on one end and parents on the other,鈥� Mr. White said. 鈥淥therwise, you are not going to close that gap.鈥�