CU Boulder's Public Achievement program was featured on Colorado Public Radio (CPR) today in a story highlighting the work of students of color at Centaurus High School in Lafayette to make advanced classes more welcoming.
According to the report, "students from low-income backgrounds and traditionally disadvantaged minorities who are ready for higher-level courses do not enroll at the same rate as their more privileged peers. ...Half of the student body is white in Colorado, but those students are overrepresented if you look at AP class enrollment. In terms of proportion, two-thirds of AP students are Caucasian. Meanwhile, in Colorado, a third of students are Hispanic and 4.6 percent are black. But in 2015-16, just 17.9 percent of Hispanics and 3.3 percent of blacks took AP classes."
Public Achievement student participant and Centaurus High School senior, Enhis Medrano, told CPR, “I feel that other people think it’s not common for students of color to be intelligent. I think it’s when you’re both, you don’t really fit in and other people don’t really see you that way.”
Enhis Medrano also shared her story of organizing for more welcoming advanced placement opportunities for smart, capable students of color like herself during the CU Boulder School of Education's Ed Talks last fall. You can watch Medrano's EdTalk below.
CU Boulder Public Achievement Program Director Charla Agnoletti was also interviewed for the story. "How do we oftentimes look through cultural lenses that don’t allow us to see the brilliance and intelligence of young people of color in the same ways that we might with young white students?” said Agnoletti.
To listen to the story and read the article, please visit CPR's website.
Watch Enhis Medrano's recent EdTalk about her work with other Centaurus High School students to make advanced classes more welcoming.