Black Youth Studies

Beyond the Schoolhouse: Overcoming Challenges & Expanding Opportunity for Black Youth in LA County

Our first report focuses on 14 LA County districts with 800 or more Black students. It found that Black students are more likely to come to school hungry, to suffer asthma and lead poisoning from disproportionate industrial pollution in their communities, and to face disruptive life challenges like homelessness, poverty, and living in foster care. Often, students who need the most support to be healthy and learn are instead more likely to attend “low-performing schools” that lack critical resources like school nurses, counselors and highly-qualified teachers. This “accumulation of disadvantage” places Black students in a harmful trajectory to to be more likely to face punitive discipline, less likely to attend school and to be less prepared for college upon graduation. Our report provides clear policy guidelines to help target upstream strategies and resources in support of Black student success.

Beyond the Schoolhouse: Digging Deeper | COVID-19 and Reopening Schools for Black Students in Los Angeles

Our second report found that compared to other racial groups, Black students in these 14 districts are more likely to experience the “accumulation of disadvantage” evidenced in the first report, and worse, many of these challenges have likely been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We looked at outcome data and conducted interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators and community activists to identify schools and community organizations within these 14 districts that have created replicable, dynamic models that support kids’ needs both in and out of school, and have crafted actionable recommendations with a special focus on supporting Black students as schools reopened from COVID-related closures.

Bright Spots: Schools and Organizations Cultivating Excellence in Los Angeles Black Youth

Our third report looks more deeply at models of success that we identified in our second report to present a focused analysis expounding the practices, approaches, techniques, and collaborations that have sustained these sites’ effectiveness in supporting Black students. These ‘bright spots’ have an established history of facilitating academic success for the Black students they serve and their strategies are illuminative for both practitioners and scholars working to create broader equity within educational systems.

Race, Gender, and Place: An Exploration of Differences and Improvements in Rates of High School Graduation for Black Youth

How do gender, race, and community factors influence differences in graduation rates across the country? 

Community conditions outside of school, including employment, poverty and homeownership,  influence gendered and race-specific patterns of improvements in high school graduation rates across the nation. This study examines the intersections of race and gender differences in graduation rates, and highlights important characteristics of ‘place’ for a selection of school districts nationwide in order to develop a better understanding of how such factors combine to impact student outcomes. We hope that findings from this study will lead to improved, more targeted support for Black students in schools across the nation.

Understanding Racial Justice Initiatives in Schools 

How have racial justice initiatives in schools impacted Black student achievement? 

Racial inequities arising from a variety of school policies and practices can erode students’ connections to school and serve as barriers to their academic success. The impact of recent racial justice initiatives in schools is a story that is still emerging.

In California, several initiatives have been recently launched to directly redress the combined impact of under-resourced schools, alienating and culturally-biased curricula, punitive zero-tolerance policies, and disproportionate surveillance and disciplinary actions. To understand the impact of racial justice initiatives on school climate and student outcomes, CTS, in collaboration with David Turner III of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, is conducting a case study analysis of two schools in districts implementing racial justice initiatives to support Black student achievement. 

Through stakeholder interviews combined with an analysis of publicly available data, the study will closely examine each school’s context, policies emerging from each initiative, and the implementation trajectories emerging to support positive outcomes for Black students. The study explores available academic outcome data alongside implementation experiences to highlight ongoing efforts by community-based organizations and the students themselves to insure implementation fidelity. This research seeks to contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of transformative policies that improve educational outcomes for historically marginalized communities.

This study builds upon several CTS studies, including our Beyond the Schoolhouse studies and our forthcoming study on school policing and community safety.

Understanding and Expanding Impact: Identifying and Expanding Support for Black Student Achievement in Los Angeles County

What types of school and community environments best facilitate Black student success?

Building upon our previous Beyond the Schoolhouse: Bright Spots study, we are identifying high-performing public elementary, middle, and high schools in Los Angeles County that excel in supporting Black student achievement. Through analysis of school-level administrative data and stakeholder interviews, this study will highlight schools addressing systemic inequities and removing barriers to Black student success. Our findings will culminate in a comprehensive report that can guide district, county, and state leaders in enhancing educational implementation improvement strategies to better support Black student success.