Results from the Long Beach Unified School District’s Pulse survey revealed an increase in a sense of personal identity and agency among Black students in the district.
Overall, 83% of Black students in the district expressed a strong sense of identity and 80% expressed a strong sense of agency—a 2% and 1% increase from the winter survey results, respectively. Different schools and grade levels saw varying amounts of progress due to different programs.
To learn more about what caused this increase, the district’s research team held focus groups with Black students across Herbert Hoover, Charles Evans Hughes and Lindbergh middle schools, as well as Jordan and Woodrow Wilson high schools.
The students in the focus groups emphasized the importance of relationships with adult staff, a welcoming classroom environment and the need for more Black staff members. They also emphasized the need to celebrate and learn about Black history and culture.
In response to their site-specific data, the Young Black Scholars Club at Wilson High School has made an effort to uplift Black students and improve their social-emotional well-being.
Wilson High School Principal Rebecca Caverly said that in 2022, the overall sense of belonging for students at Wilson was 51%, but the percentage of Black students who felt a sense of belonging was only 44%.
Black students also had lower percentages when asked about their sense of connectedness to school adults and closeness to people at their school. Twenty-two percent of Black students reported feeling connected compared to 28% of students overall. Additionally, only 54% of Black students reported feeling close to their peers compared to 60% of students overall.
However, the most recent Pulse survey data revealed a 1% increase in the sense of belonging at Wilson High School overall and a 5% increase in the sense of belonging for Black students.
“That’s why we center our Black students because they benefit but so does our entire community. We never harm our community by centering Black students.”
Wilson High School Principal Rebecca Caverly
The data also showed a jump in percentages of Black students who feel connected to adults at their schools and close to their peers–31% and 61%, respectively.
“My favorite piece of data is the significant outcome that our students are reporting that they feel more empowered to speak out about racism,” Caverly said, adding that this was achieved through creating a sense of trust with students by listening and uplifting their concerns.
For Club Advisor and Wilson counselor Jonathan Evans, one of the pivotal events the club organized was the Young Black Scholars Step Show which had around 1,300 students, community members and faculty in assembly.
“I realized that I wasn’t only serving our students at Wilson High School, I realized that I was really serving our community,“ Evans said.
The club also hosted listening sessions for Black students to share their experiences at Wilson. Evans said about 30 participants from different pathways showed up at these sessions. Some of the themes that came up included:
- Black students not feeling comfortable in their class
- Dress code as a way to target Black students
- Black students not feeling valued on campus and in the classroom
- The lack of Black teachers in the classroom
- The experience of being the only Black student in class
As part of their dedication to “listening and serving,” Evans and Caverly met with Wilson administrators and leadership to talk about the listening sessions and how to respond.
The administration plans to change the way they schedule classes to ensure that Black students will not be alone in history class. They also plan on updating the current dress code practice of having students change in front of the school to scanning IDs instead.
The club participated in different activities such as movie nights, African American family support meetings, an African drum and dance ensemble and different cultural celebrations.
