Civil Rights Groups Push High School Reform into the Limelight

 

Dubbed the Campaign for High School Equity, the goal is to ensure that America’s high schools can supply students of all backgrounds with the tools for college, work and life.

 

They plan to make this happen by breathing new life into high school reform. They want to redesign high schools, provide students with excellent teachers, rally community support for student success and provide equal learning opportunities for all students. Most importantly, they want to create a system to make high schools accountable.

 

The reasons for forming this partnership are all too clear: research shows that in the 2003-2004 school year only 53.4 percent of black students, 49.3 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native students, and 57.8 percent of Hispanic students graduated on time.

 

The partnership includes the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, The League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the National Indian Education Association, the National Urban League, and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.

 

These organizations have been around the block when it comes to providing opportunities for the disadvantaged. Though the goals of the campaign aren’t new, perhaps the historical coming-together of the big nine will help turn these dreams into realities for millions of kids.

 

You can download a copy of the campaign’s first publication, A Plan For Success: Communities of Color Define Policy Priorities for High School Reform. Go to www.highschoolequity.org