Ohio NAACP Addresses Academic Segregation in Public School Systems

By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Reporter

The Ohio Conference of NAACP hosted a press conference on November 30 to address academic segregation in Ohio’s public school systems. The Taskforce on Best Academic Practice Models for Black Students offered recommendations and identifies 10 school districts as the best schools in Ohio for Black children.

“Academic segregation in Ohio’s Integrated Public School System is unacceptable and is not in accord with the 14th Amendment, United States Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education or the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VI,” stated the tasked force.

“From 2013- 2017 Ohio had one academic goal for all Ohio students. In 2018, that was switched. It was switched to academic segregation. It lowered the targets and benchmarks and goals for black students.” remarked former state Senator Tom Roberts, president of the Ohio NAACP. The task force was created to improve and correct outcomes for Black children.

The Goals of the Taskforce are to develop and execute the following items:

To propose a National NAACP network, website, template of Best Academic Practice Models for Black students
To present specific school districts/schools as Best Academic Practice Models for Black students
To align thinking around the concept of Best Academic Practice Models for Black students

The Ohio NAACP Taskforce started with a request from the National NAACP to Sybil Edwards-McNabb, former NAACP Ohio Conference State President, to have Ohio represented in a 19-state conference on Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA) to be held in Chicago and Houston.

Upon completion of the conference, the Ohio Task Force was requested to participate in the Washington, D.C. ESSA Conference hosted by President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue of the United States Chamber of Commerce and the President and CEO Cornell Brooks of the National NAACP.

Upon the election of the current Ohio NAACP President, Tom Roberts (2017 to present), the Task Force was asked to continue the work and to help engage the Ohio Department of Education, State Superintendent Paulo DeMaria, State Board of Education President, Laura Kohler, and Ohio State Board of Education Vice President, Charlotte McGuire.The State of Ohio Collective, a 501(c)(3) think tank, joined the work in 2020 adding statewide support, research, scope, and analysis to the project. The reports can be viewed online.

(source: ohnaacp.com/taskforce)

“We have begun to meet with our school boards to share with them the work of the task force and to work with our local units and leaders in several school districts to help them understand this new paradigm… We must work to improve the student’s levels of achievement and set high expectations. We know that if we set the expectations high, they will achieve them,”said Roberts.

Roberts stated that all of the best schools for Black students in Ohio had in common both high poverty and a large number of Black students. He identified Steubenville being one of the best if not the best in the state of Ohio. These following schools will serve as models in identifying and creating the best academic practices for black children by the taskforce.

Top Ten Best Academic Practice Schools in Ohio For African American Students

1) EAST GARFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – 41% AA – 100% POVERTY

https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/school/overview/032433

2) STEUBENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL – 28% AA – 100% POVERTY

https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/school/overview/036020

3) TOLEDO EARLY COLLEGE – – 30% AA – 100% POVERTY

https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/school/overview/009038

4) STEUBENVILLE WELLS ACADEMY – 21% AA- 100% POVERTY

https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/school/overview/040246

5) TOLEDO TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL – 17% – 99.8% POVERTY

https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/school/overview/146373

6) **YOUNGSTOWN EARLY COLLEGE – 70% AA – 100% POVERTY **