Category: Race Equity


Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps

Filed Under: Education Reform, Race Equity by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
February 7, 2013

Today’s blog post is by Communities In Schools Associate Director of Talent Development, Patti Aldaz-Carrasco.

Site Coordinators at SCCP

Site Coordinators participating in the Site Coordinator Certification Program. Photo courtesy Patti Aldaz-Carrasco.

As our communities and schools continue to diversify and grow, so must our awareness and understanding of the structural racism barriers that continue to undermine school achievement for many of the students we serve. More than 70 percent of the students served by Communities In Schools are black or Hispanic. Regardless of the challenges within any social or political arena – whether the focus is education, health care, foster care or juvenile justice – black and Hispanic youth are significantly overrepresented.

In the spring of 2011, Communities In Schools launched the Site Coordinator Certification Program, (SCCP). The SCCP was created to increase the knowledge and professionalism of those individuals with the most direct impact on youth, the site coordinators. It is a learning path that provides substantive, relevant and useful information and resources.

One of the SCCP courses, Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Using the Communities In Schools Model, presents a structural framework for understanding how race impacts our students and their chance at success. This course is designed to build awareness and understanding of the structural racism barriers that continue to undermine school achievement for many students of color. It examines the barriers and introduces learners to the achievement gap. Videos and reading materials help learners understand the relationship between structural racism, the achievement gap and the mission of Communities In Schools.

The course also provides learners with an opportunity to engage one another in a discussion around the implications of this research on their day-to-day work. It identifies the risk and protective factors that have been proven to mitigate barriers and help move the needle on the achievement gap, as presented by Jennifer Durham, Ph.D., a Robert H.B. Baldwin Program Fellow, in her paper Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps (2007).

Communities In Schools is committed to expanding race equity training, and is working towards creating further opportunities for engagement on this critical topic. For now, the SCCP course is one way our network can actively promote the exchange of information, ideas and best practices in race equity.

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: Dropout Epidemic, Race Equity, What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
September 21, 2012
Caine Monroy

Caine Monroy. Photo courtesy Caine's Arcade.

Imagination Foundation: Last October, the world was invited to play in Caine’s Arcade, an arcade built out of cardboard, packing tape and imagination by a nine-year-old boy from East Los Angeles. Since filmmaker Nirvan Mullick made a short film about Caine and the amazing toys he built in his father’s car parts storefront, thousands of people have visited the arcade and donated enough money to pay for Caine’s college education. And millions of children have been inspired to invent their own wonderful games out of boxes and dreams. Mullick also created the Imagination Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “finding, fostering and funding creativity and entrepreneurship in kids.”

So this October 6, exactly one year since Caine’s Arcade became an online sensation, the Imagination Foundation is hosting the “Global Cardboard Challenge.” Children and adults from around the world are invited to get creative and build their own toys out of cardboard and share them with their communities. Visit the Imagination Foundation’s website to organize a Global Cardboard Challenge event in your neighborhood, or learn where you can play!

Chronicle of Philanthropy: Thanksgiving is the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Right after we’re done digesting all that turkey and mashed potatoes, there’s Black Friday and a weekend of deals. Then there is Cyber Monday. And now there’s…Giving Tuesday?

This holiday season, nonprofits across America are encouraging shoppers to open their wallets for donations, rather than presents. Organizations like Charity: Water, GlobalGiving, Kiva and the United Nations Foundation are spreading the word through social media, and are using the hashtag #GivingTuesday on Twitter.

Do you think an event like Giving Tuesday could catch on with consumers, like Cyber Monday has? Sound off in our comments section.

Education Week: While the four-year graduation rate for black males has been on the uptick over the last decade, a study released Wednesday morning revealed that they still have a long way to go before they are at the same level as their Hispanic and white peers.

The study, conducted by the Schott Foundation for Public Education, revealed that during the 2009-2010 school year, 52 percent of black males graduated from high school with a regular diploma within four years. In that same span of time, 58 percent of Hispanic males graduated, and 78 percent of white males got their diplomas. In 10 years, the achievement gap between black males and white males has only closed by three percent.

“We recognize the progress, but at that rate it would take over 50 years for black males to be on par with white, non-Hispanic males,” said John H. Jackson, president and chief executive officer of the Schott Foundation.

The study offers numerous reasons to explain the achievement gap, and what schools across America can do to close it once and for all. Read the full report on the Schott Foundation’s website.

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Representing Success

Filed Under: Race Equity by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
August 2, 2012

Can you believe that it’s August already? Back-to-school season is officially underway, and many young adults are packing their suitcases and buying out Target in anticipation of their first year of college.

College is often considered an “awakening” period – especially for college students living on campus. They’re leaving home, and learning how to take care of themselves and be a part of a larger, more diverse community. Living on campus often means living with thousands of young people from all over the country (and even from other cultures).

Unfortunately, according to a new study by Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis, college campuses are not always as ethnically and culturally diverse as their brochures make them out to be. According to the study, which analyzed race, income and enrollment patterns at top-tier universities between 1982 and 2004, black and Hispanic students are considerably underrepresented in the United States’ most selective colleges.

Even after taking income disparities between black and white families into account, white students were five times as likely as black students to enroll in a highly selective college, and three times as likely as Hispanic students.

Stanford’s study also looked at how low-income students fared during the college application process. While scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid are available for students who have difficulty affording a post-secondary education, only six percent of students enrolled in selective colleges came from families in the bottom quartile of income distribution.

Part of this certainly has to do with the economic downturn. While millions of adults struggle to find jobs and make ends meet, the cost of college still continues to rise. Many students, upon graduating high school, are faced with a very difficult choice: go to college and sink into debt, or earn money that can go towards supporting themselves and their family?

Communities In Schools works to make sure that all of the students we serve, regardless of race or income, are able to make their dreams of college come true. We provide them with tutors, college campus visits, assistance with college and financial aid applications, SAT prep and more. Our site coordinators have even helped students find part-time work, so that they can go to school and earn an income at the same time.

And during the 2010-2011 school year, the work certainly paid off: 81 percent of graduates monitored post-graduation went on to some form of post-secondary education.

Looking for inspiration? Read about Rey Saldaña, a Communities In Schools of San Antonio alum who utilized our resources to go to Stanford University. Now, he’s a city councilman and making a positive difference in his community.

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: Race Equity, What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
July 20, 2012
students at girls who code camp

Young women learn computer science with nonprofit organization Girls Who Code. Photo courtesy Girls Who Code.

Huffington Post: A new study released this week by Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis revealed that black and Hispanic students are significantly underrepresented at the nation’s most selective colleges. The study, which analyzed race, income and enrollment patterns at top-tier universities from 1982 to 2004, showed that white students were more likely than black and Hispanic students to not only apply to selective schools, but to gain admission as well.

Stanford’s study also took a look at the enrollment rates of low-income students, independent of race, and revealed that they were underrepresented at high-tier colleges as well. Almost 58 percent of the students enrolled at the nation’s most selective schools come from families in the top quartile of income distribution, while only six percent come from the bottom.

Even though the United States is in the midst of an economic downturn, colleges’ price tags continue to grow. This makes it harder for low-income students to afford an education at more selective schools, which tend to be more expensive. For many students, the price of a post-secondary education is enough to discourage them from even applying. More must be done to help students, regardless of race, ethnicity and income class, be able to afford the schools that best fit their education and career goals.

New York Times: Budget cuts are not only affecting students academically, but physically as well. In its biennial survey of high school students across the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported last month that nearly half said they had no physical education classes. In addition, in an attempt to fit more classroom time into the school day, many schools are cutting time from, or entirely eliminating, recess.

While it’s important to make sure students are developing their minds, we must also acknowledge that physical education classes give students the opportunity to expend excess energy, fight obesity, and learn new passions and skills. All of this helps them win in the classroom. Communities In Schools affiliates across the nation offer numerous opportunities for students to be active, including self-defense classes, soccer and basketball clubs, and field trips to bowling alleys and ice skating rinks.

GOOD: With 1.4 million computer science-related job openings expected to be available by 2018, majoring in the subject during college is a pretty safe bet. So why are only 14 percent of women graduating with computer science degrees? Many nonprofits are closing the gender gap by giving young women exciting opportunities to explore computer technology. For example, Girls Who Code is a new nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and equipping 13- to 17-year-old girls with the skills and resources to pursue opportunities in technology and engineering. This month they launched their first intensive summer camp in New York City, where they will be teaching attendants robotics, web design and mobile development, among other subjects.

One of Communities In Schools’ Five Basics is to make sure that every student has a marketable skill to use upon graduation. Organizations like Girls Who Code not only see a gap in the job market, they’re utilizing the Five Basics to make sure young women are prepared to graduate from high school and successfully fill in that gap.

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: Race Equity, What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
July 6, 2012
student reading

Summer is an excellent time to foster a love of learning in students.

Washington Post: Did you know that by not being in school, the average student will lose up to one month of instruction over the summer? For children with limited access to books, that loss can be up to three months. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage before they even walk into the classroom on the first day of school. Anindita Basu Sempere, executive director of TheWritingFaculty.com, recently shared some tips on preventing the “summer slide” with The Washington Post. Summer is a great time for students to read books that interest them without the stress of grades, testing and deadlines. Sempere advises parents, guardians and mentors to encourage children to take advantage of not having homework and foster a love of reading. She also lists some great ideas to get students involved in creative and analytical writing.

When school is out for summer, many Communities In Schools students lose their only access to reading materials. Oftentimes their families cannot afford books, or they lack transportation to local libraries. Across the network our affiliates work hard to make sure that students continue reading and learning during the break to prevent the “summer slide.” Communities In Schools of Atlanta, for example, has been able to give out 96,000 new books to children in their community.

Education Week: While 2012 has been a year of scholastic growth for many student groups, a new study reveals that students of Native American and Native Alaskan descent are in an academic rut. According to the 2011 National Indian Education Study, released on July 3 by the National Center for Education Statistics, achievement gaps have remained stagnant for Native American students in reading since 2005. And in mathematics, the gaps have actually widened.

While these new statistics are dismaying, they do give educators and nonprofit organizations like Communities In Schools more insight into what needs to be done to help these students succeed. During the 2009-2010 school year, only one percent of the students Communities In Schools served were of Native American descent. But we work hard to make sure that these students, and all of our students, get the resources they need to succeed.

Hollywood Reporter: When British makeup artist Lauren Luke teaches people how to apply cosmetics in her wildly popular YouTube videos, she usually does it with a smile and flair. But in her latest video, “How to Look Your Best the Morning After,” she looks upset and nervous. That’s because this time she teaching her YouTube subscribers how to cover cuts and bruises that an abusive partner or parent may have caused.

A powerful PSA for the nonprofit organization Refuge, “How to Look Your Best the Morning After” encourages victims of domestic abuse not to “cover it up” and to get help immediately. According to the National Coalition for Domestic Violence, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Thirty to 60 percent of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. Communities In Schools site coordinators are trained to recognize the signs of domestic abuse, and will immediately help students by contacting child services and social workers, organizing counseling sessions, and more.

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