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This report is the third in a series that probes community reactions to K-12 education; its two predecessors, "Lift Every Voice and Lead: African American Leaders' Perceptions of K-12 Education Reform" (see ED588631), and "Done to Us, Not with Us: African American Parent Perceptions of K-12 Education" (see ED573649), addressed the roles that should be played by parents and community leaders. The role to be played by youth is just as important. They are, after all, the stakeholders whose response to reform will determine if it succeeds or fails. Of the three groups, they are the only one with firsthand 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. The findings indicate that African American youth want to be heard, and they offer meaningful commentary on the educational environment and the structural issues that may impede their success. African American youth consider education a key factor in achieving their life goals and overwhelmingly want a college degree; yet, like parents and leaders, many students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, often lack the information needed to successfully navigate the educational landscape. This information deficit often creates barriers to college entry and can have enduring effects on students and communities. This report summarizes the perceptions of African American youth on K-12 education and provides actionable recommendations for improving the educational trajectories of all students.

UNCF conducted this study to shed light on African American grasstops' perspectives toward education reform and how they work to develop community-centered strategies to address disparities in schools. One narrative about the lack of engagement by local grasstops in education reform is that they do not care or are not informed about the topic. Such perceptions of apathy may not bode well for collaboration with communities or schools and could thwart progress for reform efforts. As such, UNCF wanted to investigate this phenomenon in greater detail. This study explored three areas of interest, which are followed by their guiding research questions: (1) Problems affecting people within the community: What are the serious issues affecting people in your city and community? What should be the highest priority in improving your community? (2) Perspectives on education: How are public schools doing in preparing African American students to attend and graduate from college? What are the top priorities for improving the educational landscape for African American students? and (3) Barriers to student success: How well are African American leaders doing in responding to the educational crisis facing African American students? What most affects the quality of education in your community? The key results suggest that there is, in fact, fertile ground for collaboration between parents and grasstops as the leaders expressed a strong sense of optimism in their ability to advance educational progress for students. Findings range from perceptions of the state of education for black youth to evaluations of grasstops' role in improving educational opportunities. The results reveal that African American grasstops are informed about various issues in education and would like to be further engaged in education reform work. "Lift Every Voice and Lead" is the second report in a three-part series on African American perceptions of K-12 education. [For the first report in this series, "Done to Us, Not with Us: African American Parent Perceptions of K-12 Education," see ED573649.]