Black students on free and reduced-lunch plans in the Clark County School District have some of the lowest rates of English and math proficiency in the district, according to Yvette Williams, chairwoman of the Clark County Black Caucus.
Williams said there are 32,371 black students in the school district who are in these categories, and they represent an invisible population. Williams told KNPR that these students also are not tracked on a state level, and fall through the cracks when it comes to funding.
To get the attention of lawmakers and district administrators, the Clark County Black Caucus has launched “Operation 32371,” designed to highlight the achievement gap facing black students in poverty.
Williams said initiative puts a face on these students as the caucus pushes for legislation to track students receiving free and reduced-priced lunches by ethnicity, and account for them in a weighted funding formula for Clark County schools.
"I see it as a huge gap and a lack of resources for a large number of students in poverty,” said Williams, adding that the district should use the English Language Learning program as a model to help these students achieve in school.
The idea to identify struggling students at an early age and provide them the resources they need to catch up, Williams told KNPR. She said schools with large minority populations also face a shortage of teachers and resources.
GUESTS
Yvette Williams, chair, Clark County Black Caucus
Linda Young, trustee, Clark County School District
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