WASHINGTON, DC — Black parents, educators, elected officials, clergy, students and other community leaders must remain strong advocates for high-quality educational options inside schoolhouses, at school board meetings, and inside state capitals, affirms a new report released today by the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), a national education advocacy organization. The release of the report coincides with National School Choice Week (NCSW) and underscores the need for more high-quality education options for Black children across the country.
The State of Black Education in Black America 2015 shows effective parent choice and education reform policies in action. The report also makes clear that gaps in the academic achievement of children from low-income and working-class Black families still persist, and more work needs to be done to ensure our children can achieve the American dream. Armed with this information, parents, educators, lawmakers and philanthropists can make better decisions about how parental choice and transformational education reform fits into the nation’s overall educational strategies.
“National School Choice Week reminds us that our work is not yet complete. It’s a call to action that we need to continue making positive contributions to the educational well-being of low-income and working class Black families in this country,” said BAEO Interim President Jacqueline Cooper. “The report demonstrates our full commitment to ensuring low-income and working-class Black families are fully informed and empowered to make the best decisions and gain access to high-quality education options for their children.”
“We need a meaningful plan of action to shrink the Black-White gap in education, income, and human capital,” said Director of Policy and Research Tiffany Forrester. “Our latest national report reconfirms just how vital parent choice and transformational education reform is when developing such a plan.”
Highlights show that among the 1.6 million students in the class of 2014 who took the SATs, 43 percent of them earned a 1550 benchmark for college and career readiness, but only 15 percent of Black students did so. And while the 39 percent share of the 1.8 million students in the class of 2014 who took the ACTs and met three or more benchmarks for college and career readiness is nothing to write home about, even more disturbing was the fact that a scant 11 percent of Black students did so.
The release of the report comes as BAEO, along with several education reform partners, celebrates National School Choice Week by embracing the top-line goal of parent choice to give all families the opportunity to select the best K-12 education environment for their children, be it traditional public schools, public charter schools or private schools. BAEO believes that parents know what is best for their children and should be empowered with choice. The public is invited to see a full list of our NSCW activities here. View the full national report here.
About the Black Alliance for Educational Options: The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) is a national non-profit education advocacy organization founded in 2000 by prominent Black educators, elected officials and civil rights activists. BAEO’s mission is to increase access to high-quality educational options for Black children by actively supporting transformational education reform initiatives and parental choice policies that empower low-income and working-class Black families.
