Young elementary aged girl looking up during class
K-12 Education in the U.S.

Perceptions: The African American Community’s Views on K-12 Education

The United States is experiencing a crisis in the education for black students. Various data show that deep disparities exist not only in outcomes, but in opportunities provided to students of color. UNCF has been working to address these issues, but we didn’t want to take on this task without first hearing from important stakeholders—the African American community itself.

To that end, UNCF is working to amplify the voices that are often overlooked in education discussions with our African American perceptions research series. This groundbreaking three-part series of in-depth reports uplifts the voices of African American parents, community leaders, and youth because we know that the African American voices have and always will matter in education policy. The Perceptions Research Series creates the impetus for concrete action and challenges readers to confront assumptions about apathy among the African American community on important issues like education.

2 women attending a conference

Done to Us, Not With Us

African American parents were tired of reform being done to them instead of being active partners in educational decisions. The report explores how low-income African American parents view the K-12 education system and their roles in supporting their children, and explores the challenges with engagement at their child’s school.
4 panelists speaking at a conference

Lift Every Voice and Lead

Lift Every Voice and Lead is an authoritative assessment of the potential for African American community “grasstops” leaders to parallel community members at the “grassroots” level and garner support for K-12 public school reform. It is a call to action for leaders to help their communities exert their necessary influence on education reform.
Picture of student's hands

A Seat at the Table

This report examines the perspectives of low-income African American youth on their educational aspirations, barriers to achievement and priorities. Students are the only ones with first-hand knowledge of what happens in the classroom, and, all too often, they do not have a seat at the table during reform discussions. This study begins to remedy that omission
Group shot of 3 students talking to professor outside on campus of Voorhees College
Research suggests that students who are more engaged and more optimistic about education are more likely to aspire to attend college.

Dr. Michael L. Lomax

UNCF's K-12 Research

As the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, UNCF has always been committed to increasing the number of African American college graduates. Now, we have expanded our focus to include increasing the number of African Americans who are college-ready.

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Picture of student's hands

Student Voices Matter

Meredith B.L. Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute at UNCF, discusses “A Seat at the Table”, the final installment in UNCF's three-part series on African American perspectives on education, The Perceptions Research series. The article addresses students' perceptions of the US K-12 education system. Originally published by the Brookings Institute.

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