State legislators and community activists from the
Southeast Community Policy and Leadership Forum met in San
Antonio in May to develop Educational Options for African American
Children and outline a Ten-Point Plan for education
reform initiatives (see page 2).
Participants focused on how existing public school systems can be
enhanced through innovative strategies such as involving churches and
colleges in K-12 education. Others highlighted the success of the Comer School
development model, which builds social services into the school’s daily operations.
Judy Hurt, of South Carolina’s Berkeley County Schools, noted that the
Comer model has been particularly successful in rural areas, where distance from
social services is an issue. Representatives from the religious community
outlined strategies to involve local churches in educational development.
A large stumbling block for educational reform is funding —
particularly an issue in many parts of the southeastern U.S. where money provided to local school districts via state or
local revenues ranks lowest in the nation. State Representative Laura Hall
(Ala.), herself a teacher, noted that the ten lowest ranked school districts in
Alabama, mostly in urban and rural areas, received only $422.32 per pupil in
local revenue, compared to $2,094.07 from the top ten, primarily suburban
school districts. Hall described the alliance that is developing between urban
and rural school districts — both equally poorly funded — to correct the
imbalance in revenues with wealthier suburban districts.
Participants stressed the importance of bringing
community colleges and historically African American
colleges into educational reform efforts to expose young people to a
university environment, show colleges the role they play
in guaranteeing the preparation of their future
student body and leverage resources to improve schools.
For more information, contact Darold Johnson, Southeast Community
Policy and Leadership Forum Director, at CPA or
email [email protected], or visit CPA’s website.
