New Report Update Finds Progress Toward Equity for California’s Black Students Alarmingly Slow

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For Immediate Release
April 22, 2022

Contact:
Mariel Matze, [email protected] , 650-380-1973

The Education Trust–West Revisits Signature Black Minds Matter Report

 

Oakland, Calif – Today, The Education Trust—West (Ed Trust—West) released an update to their signature 2015 report Black Minds Matter, revisiting how well California early learning programs, K-12 school districts, and higher education systems are serving Black students and families. Unfortunately, it finds that despite progress in supporting Black students in recent years, the pace of progress is alarmingly slow.

“A state as resource-rich as California cannot claim to lead the nation in progressive values, yet produce data this dismal about how it supports its Black students. That was true in 2015, and it’s sadly still true in 2022,” said Ed Trust–West executive director Dr. Christopher J. Nellum. “When we have so many research-based strategies for supporting Black students’ success at hand, neither state nor local leaders have any excuse for failing to invest in and implement what we know works.”

Key Report Findings:

  • Only 16% of Black four-year-olds are enrolled in transitional kindergarten.
  • Half of all schools in California do not employ a Black teacher—leaving 78,000 Black students without a single educator in the school building who shares their racial background.
  • On recent state assessments, only 2 out of every 10 Black students were at grade level in math.
  • Because nearly half of school districts don’t require students to complete A-G courses to graduate, and some high schools don’t even offer a full A-G course sequence, only 43% of Black students are eligible to attend California public universities when they graduate high school.
  • Dual enrollment courses (college classes offered to high schoolers) are a powerful college access tool, yet few community colleges enroll a representative number of Black students.
  • Almost one in three Black 12th graders (29%) in California did not submit a financial aid application, according to the most recent available data.
  • Black student graduation rates at California Community Colleges, the California State Universities, and the University of California are all below average.

More recently, Ed Trust–West released Momentum: A Policy Agenda for Accelerating Racial Equity in California’s Education Systems in 2022, which summarizes bold statewide policy changes that would accelerate educational equity and support Black students and families.

More recently, Ed Trust–West released Momentum: A Policy Agenda for Accelerating Racial Equity in California’s Education Systems in 2022, which summarizes bold statewide policy changes that would accelerate educational equity and support Black students and families.

About The Education Trust-West

The Education Trust-West works for educational justice and the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-K through college, in the state of California. We expose opportunity and achievement gaps that separate students of color and low-income students from other youth, and we identify and advocate for the strategies that will forever close those gaps.

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Karla Fernandez

Communications Manager

Karla Fernandez (she/her/hers) joins Ed Trust–West as a Communications Manager with over 11 years of experience advancing social impact initiatives.

Karla started her career as a teacher at Chicago Public Schools and UIC College Prep. After teaching, Karla joined United Friends of the Children to support LA County’s youth in foster care as a college counselor. Through Leadership for Educational Equity, Karla also served as a Policy Advisor Fellow for the office of a Los Angeles Unified School Board Member. She solidified her interests in policy analysis and quantitative research during her time with the Price Center for Social Innovation, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and the USC Presidential Working Group on Sustainability. Before joining The Education Trust–West, Karla was the Associate Director for the Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Collaborative, a network of nonprofits advocating for communities in SELA.

Karla holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, a Master of Public Policy from the USC Price School of Public Policy, and a Graduate Certificate in Policy Advocacy from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Karla is based out of southern California and is passionate about using data analysis, communications, and digital strategies for policy advocacy and social justice efforts.