LA Program Closes Black Student Achievement Gap by 47%

Three years ago, Ezekiel Getachew never thought about college. Now the junior at King Drew Magnet High School in South Central LA has toured three historically Black universities and is planning to major in political science, all thanks to counselors who became like family.

"It's like having an auntie looking over you," Getachew said of the support staff funded by LA's Black Student Achievement Plan. As a first-generation college student with limited family guidance, he's found mentors helping him secure internships and navigate the application process.

Getachew is one of thousands benefiting from the program launched in 2021. It serves over 200 schools with significant Black student populations, providing counselors, psychiatric social workers, and restorative justice teachers to close persistent achievement gaps.

The results are encouraging. Black students graduating with California State University or University of California requirements jumped from 40% to 53.7% between 2021 and 2025. That shrinks the gap with their peers from 8.1 percentage points to just 4.7%.

Black students now also lead in four-year graduation rates at 87.7%, compared to 86.7% for other students. Enrollment in Advanced Placement and honors classes has steadily climbed since the program started.

The numbers tell only part of the story. Mylee Furlow, a senior at Alexander Hamilton High School, struggled with feeling isolated as one of few Black students in her classes. The program's cultural inclusion activities connected her with peers and counselors who checked on her daily during tough sophomore and junior years.

"BSAP has always provided me a space to come in there to study, even talk to them about stuff that doesn't have anything to do with school," Furlow said. Sometimes students just need to feel seen.

The Ripple Effect

UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard notes that five years isn't enough time to expect dramatic transformation. But creating support structures that follow Black students through their entire K-12 education addresses decades of underserved communities.

"Historically speaking, Black students have not been served well by this district," Howard said. The program represents one of the first times LA Unified attempted meaningful intervention.

United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz emphasizes how representation matters. When students see educators who look like them and learn their own history, engagement naturally follows. Test scores improve when kids feel affirmed in who they are.

The program initially received $25 million and was recently awarded an additional $50 million despite shifting political attitudes around diversity initiatives. Proponents remain cautiously optimistic as budget pressures loom.

For now, students like Getachew are getting the "outside family" support that makes college dreams feel possible.