Kia Darling-HammondLinda Darling-HammondEliza Byard
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Young people today must learn to think critically, solve complex problems, communicate effectively, work collaboratively, and embrace lifelong learning. There is still a long road to travel to ensure all students have access to this type of “deeper learning”; however, policies that promote healthy environments, supportive learning conditions, well-resourced and inclusive schools, skillful teaching, and high-quality curriculum can help pave the path forward.
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More than 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared racially segregated schools unlawful in Brown v. Board of Education, educational opportunity and achievement gaps based on race, national origin, and class have endured. Limited protection for education as a civil right at the federal level and uneven protection at the state level have contributed to persistent inequities. Federal and state reforms could offer protection for education as a civil right and remedy racial discrimination.
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Through an innovative learning initiative that includes in-person school site visits and virtual learning sessions, engaged community leaders, parents, students, advocates, and others are building their capacity to advance evidence-based and equitable practices that promote authentic learning, foster relationships of trust and respect, and chip away at structural inequities that undermine opportunities for historically marginalized students.
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The long-standing effort to desegregate schools in the United States has been fostered, in part, by the development of magnet schools. Magnet schools were launched in the 1960s and seek to achieve voluntary desegregation through parental choice by offering specialized instruction and innovative academic offerings. These schools present a compelling evidence-based option for promoting school diversity and positive student outcomes.
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Quietly—and at times with little attention of the public, policymakers, and the media—schools have been resegregating at rates that rival those preceding Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down legal segregation in public schools. As it did following resistance to Brown, the federal government can help to foster integrated schools through increased funding and evidence-based policies.
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Evidence shows outcomes for college enrollment, retention, and degree completion; earning potential in the labor market; and overall achievement are improved when students have access to advanced curricular opportunities in mathematics and science compared to students who take fewer or less rigorous courses. Yet equitable access to advanced courses remains out of reach for many students, particularly students of color and students from low-income families.
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The guilty verdicts for George Floyd’s killer are a moment of hope on a backdrop of persistent race-based violence. And while we celebrate this moment as a major event in bending the arc of history toward justice, there is enormous work to be done to achieve racial justice and reconciliation for all, and each of us has a role to play in that work.
Jennifer DePaoli Laura E. HernándezRoberta C. FurgerLinda Darling-Hammond
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Multiple, ongoing crises—from the pandemic to systemic racism—are contributing to a collective and individual trauma that impacts the mental health, wellness, and education of students across the nation. These challenges also present an opportunity to redesign schools into restorative spaces where young people are known and nurtured. Research shows several practices school leaders can adopt to increase equity and help students thrive.
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The removal of all prohibitions on the use of federal school transportation funds to support school integration signals a hopeful shift in federal support of voluntary local school desegregation efforts—and the availability of much-needed resources to support them. This is particularly significant as the country is experiencing rates of school resegregation that rival those that preceded Brown v. Board of Education.
Maria E. HylerDesiree Carver-ThomasMarjorie WechslerLarkin Willis
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The Districts Advancing Racial Equity tool provides a practical and accessible resource for understanding, assessing, and advancing racial equity within school districts. The tool captures research-informed, high-leverage aspects of schooling that school leaders can use to create systems that build on the strengths of and respond to the needs of students of color.
