Civil rights groups want role in high school reform

As Congress, the states, and think tanks propose plans to ensure that all high school students are prepared to graduate, attend college, and succeed in a 21st century workplace dominated by increasing global competition, the Campaign for High School Equity wants to make sure that “children of color” are no longer “trapped in under-performing, under-funded, and often segregated schools,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).

In addition to the LCCR’s Education Fund, the campaign includes the League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, National Council of La Raza, National Indian Education Association, National Urban League, and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.

At a news conference in June announcing the campaign, MALDEF President John Tras­viña said its main goals are to:

• provide a unique and important perspective on national education policy issues critical to high school reform;

• educate diverse communities about the need and options for serious reform in high school education; and

• engage in advocacy that mobilizes constituencies to push for changes that produce positive outcomes for students of color and low-income students.

According to the campaign’s report, A Plan for Success, poor, minority students are ill-served by low academic expectations and inadequate resources. They are more likely to be in larger classes, have uncertified or out-of-field teachers, and less likely to have access to computer labs.

The groups want to ensure these students have access to rigorous courses and high-quality teachers.

The campaign also includes these recommendations:

• Require states to report on access to college preparatory classes and course-taking by income, race, and ethnicity.

• Promote culturally relevant content and instruction that prepares students to be effective in a global economy.

• Promote instructional practices designed to meet the needs of diverse learners.

• Provide in-school clinical training for teachers working in high-need schools.

• Develop standards for managing diversity in the school context and require diversity training for principals and teachers.

• Create multilingual parent centers to help parents and caregivers interpret school and student performance data and develop personal graduation plans.