The Long Beach Unified School district is creating several programs to combat the academic achievement gap between Black students and their peers.
During their regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19, district staff presented an update on current and future strategies to close that gap based on recommendations from parents and stakeholders.
$750,000 of state funds from the 2021-2022 Learning Acceleration and Support Plan were allocated to the Black Student Achievement Initiative to develop an advisory committee as well as fund its recommendations.
The Black Student Initiative Advisory Committee’s purpose is to “ensure that all Black students achieve academic excellence,” according to Elyssa Taylor-Stewart, one of the advisory committee’s leads. Taylor-Stewart also said that the committee is dedicated to engaging stakeholders concerning issues that directly impact Black students and subsequently making recommendations to the district about what kind of support and actions they need.
One of the main goals of the initiative is to create programs that enrich Black students’ experiences as well as look into and analyze data to identify specific areas of need.
“There’ve been a lot of promises, many of them broken. [There has been] a lot of what feels like gaslighting to me, not a ton of conversation, not a ton of transparency, not a kind of visible action.”
Kim Tobari, LBUSD parent and member of the Black Student Initiative Advisory Committee
Some of the challenges Black students face include higher drop out and disciplinary action rates. The lowered expectations when it comes to Black students is another obstacle to academic excellence, according to chief communications and engagement officer Justin Grayson. Grayson said these low expectations result in honors and other more rigorous academic courses not being offered to Black students.
“We’ve been sharing data over the last few board meetings that directly confront our own internal failures … all of which point to a set of brutal facts; we know to have contributed to those harmful and unsupportive environments for those Black students,” Grayson said.
Black students have one of the largest academic gaps in terms of student achievement, including an 86% graduation rate and 49% A-G completion rate, compared to the 90% graduation rate for white students and 58.6% A-G completion rate of all students.
One of the pilot programs, stemming from the Advisory Committee’s recommendations for more enrichment opportunities is Sankofa Summer Academy, a program for students grades four and five to engage in culturally relevant instruction, restorative justice practices and mentorship centered around Black joy and excellence. The first Sankofa Academy took place this past summer and hosted around 93 students. The district intends to offer the program next summer as well.
Pam Lovett, the Black Student Achievement Initiative academic support lead said that parents have been vocal about wanting to ensure their children see themselves and their history outside of just slavery. Hence, the program is centered around upper elementary students, as that is when students are first formally introduced to the subject of slavery in the curriculum.
“Our kids think that’s the only thing that we were; [that] we were enacted upon, stolen people, not having self-determination, not being innovative, not being creative, being folks that are just prepared to be told what to do,” Lovett said.
Sankofa Summer Academy is just one of the programs listed in the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP)—a three-year plan that describes the district’s goals, plans and actions to support and address local and state priorities—to support Black student achievement.
Other programs include Sankofa Saturdays, Sankofa afterschool, Sankofa parent workshops as well as repeating and expanding upon the Black Student Achievement Initiative Symposium.
Additional Advisory Committee recommendations include creating a database of Black student-centered clubs, activities and sponsors, identifying a Black Student Achievement Initiative Liaison at each school site and building partnerships within the community.
“Our kids think that’s the only thing that we were; [that] we were enacted upon, stolen people, not having self-determination, not being innovative, not being creative, being folks that are just prepared to be told what to do.”
Pam Lovett, LBUSD parent and Black Student Initiative Committee academic support lead
Despite these promises to center Black student achievement, some parents expressed the feeling that the district has not been as communicative or active when it comes to implementing their plans.
“There’ve been a lot of promises, many of them broken,” said Kim Tobari, LBUSD parent and member of the advisory committee. “[There has been] a lot of what feels like gaslighting to me, not a ton of conversation, not a ton of transparency, not a kind of visible action.”
“There were some things where you all fell short and part of it was the communication of what’s next,” LBUSD parent and advisory committee member Jerlene Tatum said. “We are partners in this. We’re not enemies, and we’re not appendages, so please do not treat us as such.”
Board Member Erik Miller said he acknowledges the frustration of parents.
“[These] emotions were exacerbated by communication or the lack thereof when it comes to the [initiative],” Miller said. “But all things considered, this is not about the shortcomings of this early part of the process, but more about making sure that we capitalize on this moment.”
Miller said that this was an opportunity for the district to “course correct” and support Black students.
“I’m going to hold this challenge to the admin team here and to my colleagues, that with all the information that we received today, we understand this as the baseline of where we need to go,” Miller said
“I think if we’re going to lead with building on the past and addressing the present and the future, I think that’s also based on coming in with a sense of urgency around outcomes,” board member Juan Benitez added.
