Spotlighting promising programs for Black History Month
Emery Unified School District — a two-school district located in the Bay Area — has seen significant improvement among its African American students in recent years, with test scores on the rise and chronic absence rates declining.
As local educational agencies nationwide struggle to improve outcomes for this student group, 2023–24 Smarter Balanced assessment results show 40.4 percent of Black students in the district met or exceeded the standard for English language arts (ELA) and 16.8 percent met or exceeded the standard for math. This represents a substantial improvement from the 2021–22 school year during which 24.3 percent met or exceeded ELA standards and just 8.8 percent met or exceeded the standard for math.
The district also saw chronic absenteeism rates among Black students, which made up 44.2 percent of the overall enrollment during the 2023–24 school year, drop from 40.1 percent in 2022 to 30.5 percent in 2024.
“We’re certainly excited and proud of our students and staff and the progress that we’ve made,” said Emery USD Superintendent Quiauna Scott. “There’s really no secret recipe, but I would say there’s been a commitment around the recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff. It really makes a huge difference for the educators. They’re in the space and really committed to working with students, particularly students of color and the community in which we serve.”
According to Scott, about 36 percent of Emery USD staff are African American, and 68 percent are people of color.
Research has shown that Black students who had at least one Black teacher in the early grades were more likely to graduate and go to college than their Black classmates who didn’t have a Black teacher. Black teachers also tend to have higher expectations for their Black students and are less likely to harbor views of them as inherently more disruptive or inattentive than their peers. In fact, all students have been found to benefit academically and socially from having a non-white teacher at some point in their K-12 career.
In addition to working to diversify staff to better reflect the community, Emery USD has gone to great lengths to ensure teachers have the time and ability to collaborate in meaningful ways. When developing schedules, the district aims to provide that each grade level and/or content area has the same preparation periods to allow more opportunities for staff to collaborate with each other, share their practices of what they’re teaching in their class, or things that they may be grappling with, Scott explained.
“It’s setting the conditions for staff in order to have the space and opportunity to learn from each other and with each other,” she said. “Staff members get excited when they’re hearing from each other. Setting those conditions in which they’re able to share with each other and take risks and say, ‘Hey, I’m grappling with this,’ and be able to exchange ideas has definitely helped move us in the right direction. We also encourage staff professional development as a district.”
Being flexible and responsive to students has also proven beneficial. The high school shifted to an “equitable grading” system, which focuses more on assessing students’ knowledge at the end of the grading period rather than their classroom behavior or whether they turned homework in on time. The new system, which was developed after conversations with students, has helped motivate students and provide teachers with a better idea of what content students are grasping and what they’re struggling with.
“From our students and their feedback, our staff really pivoted in terms of, ‘What else can we do to make sure students understand the content in the classrooms?’” Scott said. “Listening to our students has been a key component of the work, and being responsive to what they’re telling us as their needs.”
The district pays teachers more to stay after school and tutor students. And for students who are unable to stay on campus after the bell, Emery USD also provides a digital platform through which they can access online tutoring. “It really is just trying to listen and think about how you remove barriers so students can truly be successful,” Scott noted.
“Sometimes we have plans, and of course you want to try to execute and say, ‘Hey, we committed dollars in this way,’ but I think it’s just oftentimes taking a pause, reflect, and ask ‘Is it working? Are we seeing results?’ And if not, being okay with letting some of those things go and adjusting,” she continued. “I would also say having a board that is on board with what the district is trying to do is tremendous in this space. It’s helpful when we’re moving in the same direction. When you have your leadership from the board and the district and at the sites in coherence, that’s also beneficial.”