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King envisions learning environment that rewards all

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Michelle King, the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest public school district, has a simple mission—she wants to provide a learning environment that enables all students to realize their dreams and goals.

At a townhall held March 30 at the Community Coalition in South Los Angeles, King who calls herself a life-long educator, had an opportunity to lay out her plan; as it relates to the education of the district’s more than 80,000 African American students.

A report issued in October by the Education Trust West called “Black Minds Matter: Supporting the Educational Success of Black Children in California” painted a somewhat daunting reality for the nearly 1 million Black youth in the state. It noted that while they are more likely to graduate from high school and college than a decade ago, they are still least likely to be placed in gifted and talented educational programs, given a full sequence of college preparatory classes, graduate high school in four years and complete a college degree. The report also found that while California is home to the fifth largest Black population in the country, African American pupils are more likely to be suspended and expelled, be taught by ineffective teachers, and as college students take remedial, non-credit bearing coursework. These findings said Ed Trust West are the result of the lack of access to opporutnities and a history of inequitable policy decisions and institutional weaknesses rather than a lack of student ability or dedication.

Among the strategies King says she wants to see implemented are insuring that there is an increase in the number of and percentage of Black students admitted to the University of California and the California State University systems.

King said she was dismayed at the numbers for enrollment of African American students into these two systems.

According to the CSU system, 17,792 Black students enrolled in the system in undergraduate programs in the fall of 2014. That is compared to 70,262 Asians including Filipinos and 147,539 Latinos.

In comparison, data from the University of California indicated that in 2014, 7,932 African American students applied and 3,349 were admitted. Approximately 35,464 Latino students applied and 19,246 were admitted. About 40,141 Asian students applied and 27,640 were admitted.

While these are state-wide numbers, it is easy to see how Black students are faring.

King believes that more emphasis must be put on social/emotional issues such as how students are able to manage their environment, their resilience as well as their persistence, when they meet challenges.

One tactic King is looking to use to help bolster the efforts of African Americans is a concept called the “village movement.” This is where mentors and role models step in to help youth.

At the townhall, the Community Coalition, also called on the school district to invest in the high-need schools based on a student needs index developed jointly by the Advancement Project, InnerCity Struggle and Community Coalition.

According to the Advancement Project, high-need schools like Crenshaw, Dorsey and Washington Prep, should be given more priority.

For example, in the 2015-2016 school academic year, Crenshaw was expected to receive more than a million dollars in supplemental and concentration funds, but only received $303,908 because it ranked lower in need on the district’s formula.

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