enrolled in public school are from low- income families, with a growing number of families living in extreme poverty. As the birthplace of anti-literacy laws and segregationist policies, the fraught legacy of racialized education translates into enduring barriers to educational resources and opportunities. This legacy is applicable to today’s system of public education, as schools in the South educate more than half of America’s Black children. Additionally, more than 55% of all students in southern public schools are students of color, rapidly changing the demographics of districts large and small. Yet, southern state leaders spend the least per-pupil each year. Even with historic steps to equalize the nation’s public schools and subsequent education reform efforts, little has changed for students of color. Racially segregated schools persist. Over 334 school districts are under open desegregation orders from the federal government. The resource chasm between majority White and majority minority schools continues to widen. Inherently racially biased and discriminatory education policies and practices still prevail, creating a two-tiered education system, from early learning through post-secondary. Additionally, today, public education is under siege from multiple directions and in unprecedented ways. Across the country, we are witnessing rising efforts to censor classroom content and restrict what educators can teach, placing both pedagogy and truth-telling at risk. Legislators are dismantling higher education programs that serve students of color and promote equal opportunity.
The latest cohort of fellows joining the Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI) could not be arriving at a more urgent moment. We are facing a crisis- level need for bold, visionary leadership, leaders who understand the systemic challenges students of color face and are prepared to meet them head-on. The struggle for greater freedom and equal access is nothing new. Seventy-one years have passed since Brown v. Board of Education, and yet, the work remains unfinished. Despite decades of public education reforms, race and class remain the most reliable predictors of student success in school. Although students of color experience disparate education opportunities across the United States, the straits are particularly dire in the American South, where more than half of all the students Leading with a Transformational Posture in a Challenging Education Climate Dr. Kenita T. Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Southern Education Foundation
| ECHOES OF EXCELLENCE |
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