There is perhaps no issue in American education more intractable or more painful than the persistent gaps in educational outcomes between Black and Brown students and their white peers. In our ongoing coverage of education, The Hechinger Report explores how white students are given advantages every step of the way, how racism is woven into the system — from the way schools are funded to the material students are taught — and what’s being done to make change.
must read reporting
A college where the graduation rate for black students has been zero percent — for years
Alexis Turner listened carefully as the administrators at the freshman orientation for Kent State University at Ashtabula ticked through the student groups she could join on campus that fall: English Society, Psychology Club, Student Veterans Association. She left the auditorium apprehensive. There was no Black Student Union, Latino Student Union or Multicultural Society.
Must read voices
COLUMN: Black and Brown boys don’t need to learn ‘grit,’ they need schools to stop being racist
Everyone seems to think that a lack of “soft skills” is the reason why students of color aren’t ready for college and careers. More schools and after-school programs are teaching students how to have “grit,” compassion and a “growth mindset.” Under the new federal education law, states are encouraged to use “nonacademic” factors to hold…
Latest Race and Equity stories and voices
Trust issues: How schools profit from land and resources on tribal nations
This story is a collaboration between Grist and High Country News and is reprinted with permission. On a wet spring day in June, fog shrouded the Mission Mountains on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. Silver beads of rain clung to blades of grass and purple lupine. On a ridge overlooking St. Mary’s Lake in the southeastern…
SUPERINTENDENT VOICE: As a Latina, my leadership sets me apart and gives me a chance to set an example
In the United States today, 9 out of 10 school superintendents are white and two-thirds are white men. When you think of a typical superintendent, the person you imagine probably doesn’t look like me. As a Latina, my leadership isn’t often expected, nor is it always welcome. Institutional biases block career advancement for educators of…
Can the FAFSA mean … fun?
At the end of July, McDowell Technical Community College in Marion, North Carolina, hosted a party for something people don’t typically throw parties for: Applying for financial aid. The campus is often quiet after 5pm, but on this day, it was transformed into a loud and lively space for Latino families from the western part…
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