For far too long, the academic achievement level of African American students has been unacceptably low, despite an abundance of research on the topic and examples of best practices in communities across the nation.  In response to this ongoing crisis, CLASP has developed a memorandum with key recommendations to help President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans develop policies that reduce inequality and ensure African American youth have pathways to postsecondary education and good careers.

The memorandum addresses many critical issues and intervention strategies to ensure youth are connected to school and employment, including implicit bias, culturally responsive pedagogy, school discipline, concentrated poverty, and socio-emotional health.