Oakland resolution to help Black and brown students qualify for college

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland School Board will be voting on a new resolution next month, designed to help more Black and brown students get into college.

Supporters said a recent study shows that half of Oakland's Black and brown high school seniors are not eligible to even apply for admission.  

Supporters said the resolution is needed to have policies and resources in place that will  encourage schools to help Black and brown students meet the requirements not only to graduate from high school but help them prepare for college.

On Thursday night, 35 Oakland public schools received awards for successfully preparing Black and brown students for college admission. 

They helped students meet course requirements and made sure they were proficient in subjects including math and English.

"We want to amplify those successes, focus on building what works. But 35 out of 120 is not enough," said Kimi Kean, co-founder of Families in Action. 

Not enough, according to the advocacy group, because it said the majority of Oakland's 120 public schools are failing to help Black and brown students get into college.

"We got to stop hiding behind inflated graduation numbers and inflated grades because we're doing the children of Oakland a disservice," said Charles Cole, III, co-founder of Families in Action.  

At a rally before the awards ceremony, the group announced a resolution called "Raise the Bar" that it co-authored with two school board members. 

It called on the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education and the city council to set goals to  improve proficiency rates substantially  for Black and brown students over the next ten years.

"We need to go from incremental to a rocket type of acceleration for our curriculum," said OUSD board member Jorge Lerma.  

Supporters said the resolution is a way to try to ensure that resources are devoted to and focused on educating parents and students about college eligibility.

"If you don't hit those requirements, then what opportunities do you have," said Stephisha Ycoy-Walton, a parent. 

She said she wants to make sure her son who's in the fourth grade is on track to get into college.

"If graduation is not synonymous with acceptance, then it's failure," she said. 

One high school senior, Benjamin Ceja, said he's college bound thanks in part to his school.

He said the resolution could help many students.

"I'm super passionate about it because I've seen students who have a lot of potential, but they don't know what they need to do," said Ceja.  

Kean said the resolution's goal is to encourage schools to look beyond high school graduation,

"We know that without ensuring black and brown students read and do math at grade level, we will not be preparing our students for opportunities in college."  

The school board is scheduled to discuss and vote on the resolution on April 24. 

Kean said the city council is expected to take up this matter in the coming months.  

 Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU,  Instagram @AmberKTVU  or Twitter @AmberKTVU.