We live in a nation where 54 percent of adults read at or below a 6 th grade level and 66 percent of 4 th graders are not reading proficient . Nearly 30 percent of Americans scored in the lowest percentile of numeracy and 24 percent lacked basic digital problem solving abilities. When 44 percent of Americans could not name all three branches of government, you begin to understand why our politics are so volatile and our governance structures so fragile. Close to 20 percent of Black students and 37 percent of Hispanic students are unable to achieve a high school diploma or GED. And while 75 percent of white students earn regular diplomas, only half of Black students do. Our K-12 education system never really functioned, fully, the way an education system should. The impact of that dysfunction has always harmed students of color – especially Black students – the worst. And, yet, when the pandemic (as devastating as it was) offered us an opportunity to finally re-envision education...
