By: Naomi Shelton, Director of K-12 Advocacy at UNCF (United Negro College Fund)
Equity has been a huge buzzword in the field of education this year. Education advocates and politicians alike have called for an increase in educational equity, but what does the term really mean? Equity is not Equality. Equity creates equality by prioritizing resources to students who need them the most.
For example, think of a typical track meet. There are five runners – each in their own lane. Each runner must run one lap around the track. The first runner to complete the lap, wins the race. Now let’s use this analogy to inform our understanding of equity.
Equality would mean that every runner would start the race at the exact same spot in their lane. However, the track is oval-shaped. If each runner began at the same spot, each runner’s distance to the finish line would be different. The runner in the innermost lane would run a shorter distance than the runner in the outermost lane. Sure, they would both start in the same spot (EQUAL), but the runners in the innermost lanes would have an advantage – in distance – than their counterparts in the outermost lanes.
This is precisely why track meets do not operate this way. Since the track is oval-shaped, each runner begins the race in their own lane, at different, equal distance, spots along the track; ensuring that each runner, runs the exact same distance needed to complete the race.
Now, think of our current public education system in this same context. Students – regardless of race, geography, household makeup – start on the same marker on the track. Some students, like the runner in the outermost lane, have to run harder and faster to get to the finish line. The barrier here is distance. In the real world, barriers include low-income, resource deprived neighborhoods, disabilities that require additional expertise, culturally negligent curriculum, outdated technology, inexperienced teachers or access to critical supportive services.
Meanwhile, the runner in the innermost lane has it a lot easier. They don’t have to run as fast or as hard to get to the finish line because of their initial position in the race. The barriers here are fewer in number. In terms of education, these innermost runners attend schools in affluent neighborhoods with a surplus of resources. These students have the advantage of local tax-based funding formulas, parent lead fundraising efforts and/or private funding, and state-of-the-art technology.
What we need is education reform that promotes fairness. Fairness equals equity. As Debby Irving in her book Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race states, “Equality means giving all students the exact same thing to meet the same expectations. Equity means holding people of differing needs to a single expectation and giving them what they need to achieve it.” In other words, the playing fields need to be leveled. It’s critical that our public educational system undertakes reform – changes so that each student is given what they need to succeed.
Our education system should support students by allocating the most resources to students who are most in need, just as track athletes arrange themselves for fairer competition. The national education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) targets dollars to the highest poverty schools and districts.
Under No Child Left Behind, schools could lose funding if they failed to meet statewide standards. But under ESSA, states cannot reduce funding by more than ten percent from year to year despite school performance. ESSA also attempts to ensure that low-income students are not disproportionally taught by ineffective, inexperienced, and/or out-of-field teachers.
ESSA requires that state and district report cards include the percentage of inexperienced teachers, principals, and other school leaders as well as teachers with emergency credentials, and teachers teaching subjects out of their range of expertise. ESSA also seeks to relieve some teacher angst surrounding evaluation systems by ending the requirement for state teacher evaluation systems to focus significantly on student test scores.
ESSA gives power back to the states to control education policy. Now, members of the community must hold their school leaders and elected officials accountable to implement system-wide and school-specific measures that ensure equity in our schools.
Furthermore, UNCF’s 2017 community resource, Lift Every Voice and Lead Toolkit: A Community Leader’s Advocacy Resource for K-12 Education, offers step-by-step analysis of African American Education and highlights organizations that have effectively engaged in education efforts at a local level to support efforts in improving the quality of education for all students.
Naomi Shelton has experience in education related community engagement both at the national and local levels and public administration. Currently, she is the Director of K-12 Advocacy at UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. There, she focuses on national education initiatives and community engagement efforts to ensure more African-American students are college and career ready. Naomi is currently a member of the DC Public Charter School Board, appointed by Washington, D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser. Her passion is educational equity. Follow Naomi on Twitter at @NaomiSheltonDC
Parents play critical roles in their child’s achievement from kindergarten through high school graduation. Parent advocacy has proven to have positive implications on student educational success. But who advocates for and supports parents and caregivers? In African American households, oftentimes, clergy or other prominent community leaders are the galvanizing force behind motivating community involvement.
In the ‘50s and ’60s, during the Civil Rights Movement, critical voices for change came through influential leaders. Dorothy Height, for example, was instrumental in bringing together women of different races to create a dialogue of understanding. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. motivated the Birmingham, Alabama community to nonviolently protest segregation. And in more recent history, organizers Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi inspired millions to support #BlackLivesMatter; bringing light to systematic racism. But what about education reform? Who is standing with parents as they call for access to better educational opportunities in their communities?
In a report produced by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Done to Us, Not With Us, African American parents said that they felt a number of obstacles prevent them from advocating more for education reform. Too many African American communities experience low-quality, under resourced K-12 schools and are staffed by educators who are less experienced than those in high-income neighborhoods. This disparity hinders economic growth. It also causes a gap in student college preparation.
Research findings help us better understand how to best reach parents; despite these challenges.
Not only do we have to support parents as they navigate the college-going process, but we also have to highlight the larger educational crisis that exists within the African American community. We need to let parents know that they can make a difference and that their children can achieve higher outcomes than what some might expect for them.
The UNCF report also acknowledges that the messenger matters. In Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, he states “In epidemics, the messenger matters: messengers are what makes something spread. But the content of the message matters. And the specific quality that a message needs to be successful is the quality of ‘stickiness’”.
In other words, people relate to relatable people! It’s extremely important that messengers who understand the current educational climate and who understand the African American community – are carrying these messages of how to advocate for their child in school and what actions they can take to bring about change in their local jurisdictions. This is one reason why the UNCF boots-on-the-ground, K-12 Advocacy group exists. In an effort to focus on increasing college-readiness in the black community, UNCF has partnered with local leaders and changemakers to address the importance of educational success in fresh, contemporary ways and to hold schools and educators accountable for providing high-quality education in under-performing districts.
Parents – take a look at the UNCF parent checklist to understand what you can ask and do to help your children thrive in school.
In the blog post titled Rethinking America’s K-12 Debate, Darrell Bradford, executive vice president of 50CAN sums it up perfectly, “When it comes to how to best educate children, we don’t know all of the answers, but we should commit to empowering new voices, fostering innovative ideas, and asking lots of questions.”
Khalilah Long, Communications Manager for UNCF writes on topics including critical topics surrounding K-12 Advocacy including education reform, academic standards, teacher diversity, high-quality charters, school choice. Prior to joining, Khalilah has published topics on nursing, healthcare reform, higher education accreditation, and mental health.
Following on his generous $100,000 scholarship gift made in 2015 through UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) to four deserving college students, actor and comedian Kevin Hart has joined forces with UNCF and KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) to help 18 more KIPP students earn a college degree. Through a new UNCF scholarship program launched in partnership with Kevin Hart’s Help From The Hart Charity and KIPP Public Schools, the $600,000 scholarship will provide funding to support KIPP students from eight different cities who are attending 11 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
UNCF is the largest provider of college scholarships for students of color in the U.S., awarding more than $100 million in college scholarships annually to deserving students. The 18Help From The Hart Charity Scholarshiprecipients have been selected based on their academic and personal accomplishments and may receive substantive renewable awards based on need.
“The Help From The Hart Charity Scholarship will not only support students, but will also demonstrate support for HBCUs,” said UNCF CEO and President Michael L. Lomax. “Research shows that HBCUs matter, and that HBCU students are having a positive college experience, but they also have an unmet financial need. Together, Kevin and KIPP have made an investment that will have a significant impact. We can’t thank them enough for their support.”
“Education and knowledge are powerful,” said Hart. “I just wanted to do my part in providing opportunities for our future leaders, especially from my Philly hometown, and show support for HBCUs. This is just the beginning; trust me when I tell you there are a lot more kids who want to go to college who don’t have the money to make it happen.”
The 18 students receiving college scholarships are high school graduates who attended KIPP public charter schools in eight different communities: the Arkansas Delta, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. A recent survey of KIPP alumniacrossthe country showed that the KIPP graduates who attend HBCUs reported a stronger sense of belonging, better mental health, and were more likely to have a mentor than those attending non-HBCUs.
“Nothing brings me greater joy than to see the hard work of these 18 KIPP students recognized by Kevin Hart and UNCF through this generous scholarship program,” said John Fisher, chair of the KIPP Foundation Board of Directors. “Michael Lomax has been a longtime KIPP supporter and friend and a tireless champion for young people. We are incredibly grateful to both UNCF and Kevin Hart for their partnership and support to help our students thrive in college and achieve their dreams.”
Hart’s gift to fund this new scholarship program puts him in line with many other renowned celebrities—like Lou Rawls, Ella Fitzgerald, Clifton Davis, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Anthony Anderson, Beyoncé, Chris Rock, Usher, Pharrell Williams, Ray Charles, John Lennon, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis who, realizing the value of a quality education, have supported UNCF over the years. “Giving back to build better futures is the name of the game, and we hope that others like Kevin will understand why educational investments are so important, especially now, and step up to help more deserving students,” said Lomax.
Lomax also added, “Over the last decade, UNCF has been building a relationship with the KIPP public school network, and we are so excited that KIPP’s board of directors and Chairman John Fisher are behind this outstanding new venture. There are more than 1,300 KIPPsters currently enrolled at HBCUs, and together, we are bringing resources and shining a spotlight on these students who are doing all they can to get a college education. This unique partnership will help UNCF continue to bridge the gap from high school success to college achievement and enables UNCF to help more students get to and through college.”
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) generate $14.8 billion in economic impact annually, according to a stunning new report by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
The landmark study titled, “HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said that public HBCUs account for $9.6 billion of that total economic impact, while private HBCUs account for $5.2 billion.
“The estimate includes direct spending by HBCUs on faculty, employees, academic programs and operations, and by students attending the institutions, as well as the follow-on effects of that spending,” the report said.
The combined economic impact is equivalent to a top 200 ranking on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations.
“The presence of an HBCU means a boost to economic activity, on and off—and even well beyond—campus. Stronger growth, stronger communities, more jobs and a more talented workforce,” UNCF authors wrote in the report.
According to the UNCF report, Howard University generates $1.5 billion in total economic impact and 9,591 jobs for its local and regional economies.
“Every dollar spent by Howard University and its students produces positive economic benefits, generating $1.58 in initial and subsequent spending for its local and regional economies.
The study, conducted by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business Selig Center for Economic Growth, found that Hampton University generated $270 million in total economic impact and 2,249 jobs for its local and regional economies.
“For each job created on campus, another 1.7 public- and private-sector jobs are created off campus because of Hampton University-related spending,” study said. “Looked at in a different way: Each $1 million initially spent by Hampton University and its students creates 11 jobs.”
While Morehouse College generated a total economic impact of $188 Million and 1,580 jobs. Spelman College accounted for $199 million in total economic impact and 1,625 Jobs.
North Carolina A&T State University generated $488 million in total economic impact and 4,325 jobs for its local and regional economies.
“It’s the first time that we’ve had a study conducted by such a professional institution to recognize the importance of HBCUs and particularly the impact on our community,” Miles College President Dr. George T. French, Jr., told the NNPA Newswire. “We’ve talked in general terms, but to quantify this is important so that our partners can understand the value of our institution. It’s a win-win for our region and for government partners who look to partner with us.”
The report revealed that the 1,634-student Alabama school generated $67 million for its local region. Each $1 million initially spent by Miles College and its students creates 16 jobs, according to the report.
“It’s eye-opening and, in addition to the 730 jobs created, there’s a 1-to-1 match for every full-time job at Miles, we create another job in our region,” French said. “So, we have about 377 employees on campus, but because of that, we’ve created 350 off-campus jobs.”
The benefits flow to Miles College’s graduates, who’ll enter the workforce with sharper skills and vastly enhanced earning prospects, according to the report.
