To wrap up our program, we had the privilege and opportunity to meet with The Education Trust West (ETW) located in Oakland CA. We were graciously welcomed by Lange Luntao, Director of External Relations, Natalie Wheatfall-Lum, Director of P-16 Education Policy, and Chris Nellum, Executive Director and CSHPE Alum.
Our Boot Camp began with a presentation by Natalie Wheatfall-Lum and Lange Luntao. Through this presentation we learned about ETW, their mission, vision, priorities, and core values. In addition, we further explored the Education Equity Policy Timeline and some of California’s Racial Propositions.
Following this presentation, we engaged in a Data Equity Walk, something that the ETW is often offering to “high school and college students, teachers, district leaders, community members, or others – in order to engage with education data and discuss equity issues.” The walk allowed us as participants to take in the data individually and make notes and/or ask questions. After exploring the data on our own we came back as a group and discussed what we had noticed, focusing the conversation in identifying disparities, implications, and ultimately identifying possible solutions.
During lunch, our conversations continued and we had the opportunity to chat with current research and data analysts. The small group personalized conversation provided us with a glimpse into the people behind the campaigns and what it is like working at ETW.
To end the day, Dr. Chris Nellum walked us through a campaign that the ETW decided to initiate in response to the CSU system seeking to add a year of quantitative reasoning eligibility requirement to the already existing A-G requirements for high school students. The campaign began in 2016 and was aimed at stopping the CSU system to make this change that would disproportionately impact students in high schools that already were not offering the full A-G sequence. In the grand scope of things this policy would ultimately be widening the gap to college opportunity and access, which is why the efforts of the ETW to help stop it was paramount. Learning the behind the scenes of a campaign similar to the Campaign for College Opportunity, and just Equations on CSU Admissions was not only interesting, but provided insight into the vital components and players that made this campaign successful.
Having the opportunity to spend time at ETW provided my colleagues and I with a more in depth understanding of the role that ETW plays in moving policy forward (or in this case, stopping policies) and shining a light on the importance of creating partnerships with organizations and people at different levels. It was refreshing to see an organization take action and while incorporating the greater community.
Education Trust-West Data Equity Walk
–Diana Torres, master’s student