But unfortunately, America keeps leaving a lot of children of color behind. New test score data on 4th grade reading from the Department of Education shows that the achievement gap continues for Black and Hispanic students. More must be done for these kids.

Take action now!

Probably the most alarming statistic is that schools serving mostly African-American students are twice as likely to less experienced teachers than white students in the same district. But other forms of disadvantage, like the fact that “only 22 percent of local education agencies reported that they operated pre-K programs targeting children from low-income families,” are also worthy of mention. Learn more about the report here, and draw your own conclusions.

“It’s something that the people don’t want us to be focusing on,” one Arizona senator is quoted as saying. In these times of economic uncertainty, it’s no wonder. Families are still struggling in the wake of the recession, and they want their legislators to focus on how to protect them in the budget process. Sign our petition to tell your members of Congress your priorities!

“Would this category of hardworking immigrants ultimately be an advantage to America or a drain? It is a principle of democratic capitalism and non-Malthusian economics that ambitious human beings are not just mouths but hands and brains. They are a resource – the main source of future wealth,” writes Gerson.  Since the bill applies to such a worthy group of students and enlistees, Gerson argues, it should be unobjectionable even to serious immigration restrictionists.  What do you think?

From the article:

“Restrictionists dismiss the Dream Act as an amnesty that rewards people who entered the country illegally. But the bill targets individuals brought here by their parents as children. What is to be gained by holding otherwise law-abiding young people, who had no say in coming to this country, responsible for the illegal actions of others? The Dream Act also makes legal status contingent on school achievement and military service, the type of behavior that ought to be encouraged and rewarded.”

The report, Positive Outcomes for All, comes from our friends at The Center for the Study of Social Policy.  They conclude that proportion of African American children in foster care is “extreme” in seven states, meaning that they’re in the system at a rate four times their percentage of the population.  Befriend us on Facebook to get updates on children and racial equity.

Voices for America’s Children, the nation’s largest network of multi-issue children’s advocacy organizations and a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grantee, has worked for the past 25 years to improve the lives of all children across the nation. We believe true equity means that a child’s life outcomes cannot be predicted by race or ethnicity. Sadly, this is not the case in America today. There are enormous gaps between children of color and their white counterparts across every major indicator of child well-being. These inequities are created by structures, public policies and practices that (often unintentionally) produce racial gaps.

We have worked much of the 20th century to close this divide. But with racial gaps so evident, we must redouble our efforts. This is the aspiration of the Kellogg Foundation’s “America Healing Initiative”: to go to the places where inequity exists and improve the lives of children there.

Our definition of racial equality is when children’s outcomes in life can’t be predicted by their skin color. Clearly we still have a long way to go toward that goal. To learn more about work on racial equity by Voices and partners like the Annie E. Casey Foundation, visit our equity and diversity page.