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Education |
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NAACP EDUCATION GOAL |
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The overall goal of the NAACP National Education Department is to ensure that all students have access to an equal and high-quality public education by eliminating all education related racial and ethnic disparities. Through advocacy training, policy development and guidance, building collaborative networks, and direct action, the National Education Department works to accomplish this goal with assistance from NAACP regional directors, state and local education committee chairs as well as our Partners in Education.
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KEY EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES
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Ensuring School Resource Equity: Quality public education for African American and Latino students is persistently threatened as a direct result of inequitable school funding. Generally, wealthy school districts have higher per pupil expenditures than high poverty districts. The NAACP is committed to working with local education agencies to reduce resource disparities by 50%.
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Increasing Teacher Quality: Schools with heavy concentrations of minority students have an average of 78% of math teachers teaching outside of their subject area. The NAACP is committed not only to ensuring that minority children are taught by qualified teachers, but we are also committed to ensuring that teachers receive the supports necessary to do their jobs effectively. |
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Promoting Parent and Family Engagement: Research has established that sustained parental involvement is critical to the educational success of children. Unfortunately, black families are less likely to manage the amount of time their children spend reading, doing homework or watching TV. The NAACP is committed to helping parents become more directly engaged in their education of the children. |
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Enhancing Early Childhood and Literacy Initiatives: Early childhood education has been shown to be an important predictor of future academic and emotional success for children. Still, far too many minority children start kindergarten performing far below their potential as a result of their inability to access quality early childhood education programs. The NAACP is committed to enhancing early learning opportunities for all students. |
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CURRENT ADVOCACY INITIATIVES |
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The
"school-to-prison
pipeline" describes an alarming trend wherein public elementary, middle and high schools are pushing youth out of classrooms and into the juvenile justice and criminal justice system.
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Under the banner of "zero tolerance," schools increasingly are relying on inappropriately harsh discipline and, increasingly, law enforcement, to address trivial schoolyard offenses among even the youngest students.
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Children are far more likely to be arrested at school than they were a generation ago. And these school-arrests are not for violent behavior. For example, in one Texas school district, 17 percent of school arrests were for disruptive behavior, and 26 percent were for disorderly
conduct.(1)
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Defenders of the pipeline cannot attribute the explosion of school-based arrests to an increase in school violence. On the contrary, empirical evidence shows that between 1992 and 2002, school violence actually dropped by about
half.(2)
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Rather than nurturing and educating children perceived to pose a disciplinary problem, schools are turning to law enforcement to simply get rid of the child.
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Unfortunately, children of color and children with disabilities bear the brunt of these harsh trends.
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Nationally, minority students are suspended at rates of two to three times that of other students. They are also more likely to be subject to office referrals, corporal punishment, and
expulsion.(3)
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Children of color also are more likely to be referred by their school to the juvenile justice
system.(4)
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Minority students with disabilities are particularly vulnerable. African American students with disabilities are three times more likely to receive short-term suspensions than their white counterparts, and are more than four times as likely to end up in correctional
facilities.(5)
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Voluntary School Integration Under Threat |
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The United States U.S. Supreme Court on December 4, 2006, heard oral arguments in two cases that could forseeably threaten the ability of schools, school districts, and local communities to pursue innovative measures toward greater integration. In short, the cases before the court will decide whether or not voluntary integration measures undertaken by the Seattle, WA and Louisville, KY school districts are consistent with the goals of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The NAACP is also strongly opposed to a recent attempt to re-segregate public education in Omaha, Nebraska. Following passage of a law by the Nebraska legislature to separate school districts by race, the NAACP filed a lawsuit to stop the plan. |
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National Call for Action in Education State Equity Plans |
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The NAACP Call for Action recently called on states to develop a five-year plan to reduce education-related racial disparities by fifty percent. Each state was provided with a web-based template to integrate the elements described in the Call for Action, into measurable and quantifiable indicators and milestones designed to reduce racial disparities and close the achievement gap. To date, twenty-three states have submitted equity plans to the NAACP, ten states refused to submit plans, and seventeen states never responded to the NAACP request. |
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Opposition to School Voucher
Programs
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The NAACP has a long standing policy of opposing school voucher programs based on the premise that these programs use public funds to support private and/or parochial education. Moreover, voucher programs may hasten the abandonment of public schools while leaving behind the majority of low-income students of color. To that end, the NAACP recently expressed its strong opposition to a Utah legislative proposal to expand voucher programs. The National office is continuing to work through the Utah NAACP leadership in collaboration with several local and national partners to safeguard public education by resisting vouchers. |
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PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES |
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Back to School/Stay in School (BTS/SIS): |
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The NAACP BTS/SIS program is designed to assist students in grades K-12 with the academic and social supports required to complete high school. The program aims to improve student achievement by reducing absenteeism and the dropout rate, providing a higher level of academic and cultural enrichment, and increasing parental involvement. The program also works to improve overall perceptions about public schools in order to develop pride and confidence within students about their schools. |
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The BTS/SIS program consists of four main components: |
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the annual Back to School Rallies that encourage communities to join their local NAACP branch in motivating students about going back to school,
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Academic Enrichment Programs that provide students with extra academic support,
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Parent/Family Workshops that work to improve parents involvement in their child’s education as well as improve their own educational and technological abilities, and
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the Reducing Absenteeism and Dropout Campaign that recognizes improvements in student behavior and attendance.
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Scholarship Program: |
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The NAACP is a leading advocate of equal access to quality education. In an effort to promote and ensure higher education opportunities for minority youth, the NAACP offers the following national scholarships: Earl G. Graves Scholarship, Agnes Jones Scholarship, Historically Black College & Universities Scholarship Fund, Lillian and Samuel Sutton Scholarship, Roy Wilkins scholarship, and the Hubertus
W.V. Willems Scholarship. These awards help eliminate financial difficulties that may hinder students’ higher education goals. Scholarship award amounts range from $1,000 - $5,000 and are disbursed in two installments throughout a specified school year. Each scholarship contains its own set of requirements and students are encouraged to apply for each award that aligns with their eligibility. |
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Daisy Bates Education Summit |
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The Daisy Bates Education Summit is convened biennially in honor of Mrs. Daisy Bates, former president of the Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and advisor to the “Little Rock Nine.” The conference is designed to bring together students, teachers, parents, administrators, researchers, policymakers, and social justice advocates |
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RESEARCH INFORMATION & PUBLICATIONS |
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High School Equity Plan for Success |
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For additional information contact Dr. Wanda Jackson at:
wanda@sowega.net |