Integration Starts in the Village

Across the country, colleges and universities are changing their SAT policies and becoming test-optional campuses. That means they don’t consider test scores in their admissions process. In Washington, six universities have made the transition. Supporters say the move is meant to increase diversity and make admissions more accessible. Studies show mixed results on whether it works, but at some universities like the University of Puget, there was an increase in the students of color admitted.

About “1,500 (High School) students from 75 of the nation’s poorest schools in 35 cities,” are enrolling in college courses in elite universities like Harvard and Columbia through an initiative started by a nonprofit—and succeeding. The aim of the program is to prepare underprivileged students for the rigors of college education, and give them a confidence boost before they enter college. They complete the same coursework as the college students and get a grade. “All of these schools talk this game, ‘We want diversity, but we can’t find these kids,’ and this proves they can build a pipeline."

The Sebastian Indian Social Projects (SISP) works with socio-economically disadvantaged communities, providing social services like healthcare and employment assistance with a primary focus on educating youth. SISP has focused on educating the local female population, which has helped empower them economically and led to several women receiving jobs outside of their village. SISP has also educated several students who were forced to drop out of traditional school and provides supplementary activities along with their standard education, such as skating and coding clubs.

Motivated by educational disparities, lack of culturally relevant programming, and safety concerns in public schools, Black families are forming homeschooling pods and co-ops that allow them to tailor their children's education while also finding a sense of community support.

In Boston, four organizations that serve Black and Latino families formed an alliance to provide low-cost learning pods to students of color. Run out of two churches, the full-day learning pods “serve nearly two dozen kindergarten through sixth-grade students.” The service comes at a crucial time, since pandemic learning is leaving behind students of color who already were at a disadvantage.

Undocumented parents face unique challenges to pandemic learning. Some don’t speak English or might not have access to Wi-Fi. To help, an activist in Michigan created an in-person learning hub for students of undocumented families in grades K thru 12. The hub was hosted in a church and provided 24 students with computers from the district, and support from teachers and tutors. The hub was funded through donations from the community.

The Austin Independent School District is expanding its therapist intervention program at a variety of its schools in order to help improve student well-being. Over 40 student mental health clinics, which are open year-round, are now present in elementary, middle, and high schools and also offer its services to parents, and through their presence have helped increase attendance, as well as helping students cope with stress and anxiety.

The University of Texas at El Paso, among other universities such as Princeton or Georgia State, are making concerted efforts to ensure the success of their first generation or low-income students in a student body that is 80% Hispanic. They use outreach efforts to connect with parents and get them familiar with the college environment, offer summer orientations to get new students familiar with campus resources, and simplify their application process to reduce the paperwork and offer support in the process. For many first generation students, their family's support is key to their success in college.

The Migrant Education Program, which offers educational and social services to migrant worker families in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, is growing in popularity among the valley’s migrant worker population, and has recently begun to focus on getting migrant students geared up for college .

Students who are new to America or lack college-educated parents often don’t know their options. Increasing transparency about financial aid systems and encouraging students to strive for competitive schools are some of the ways that first-generation citizens can get a university education.