Closing the gap

The 1619 Freedom School is working to address issues like racial disparities in Waterloo community schools. Some of the identified problems:

• 26 percent of students are Black, while the Black share of students labeled gifted is half that: 13 percent.
• Black students are almost nine times less likely to be enrolled in Advanced Placement courses than white students.
• Black students account for half of all suspensions in the district.
• The average Black student in Waterloo is more than two grade levels behind the average white student.

Literacy instruction in schools stops after third grade, even when students have fallen behind. That literacy gap compounds learning disparities as students age and are expected to deal with more challenging materials.

The 1619 Freedom School, a free after-school program focused on literacy, was founded this academic year to directly confront these issues. The organization is providing intensive literacy education through a culturally responsive curriculum five days a week to fourth-graders and fifth-graders at Walter Cunningham, Highland, Lincoln, and Kittrell elementary schools.

Veridian is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion at the credit union and in our communities. As part of that commitment, Veridian recently created and donated a postcard to students of the 1619 Freedom School that highlighted the life of Edna Griffin, a civil rights activist often called "the Rosa Parks of Iowa." Veridian also donated a painting of Griffin done by Gary Kelley to the school as well as $1,000.

Veridian is committed to being a credit union where everyone belongs. This article series spotlights different groups to encourage mutual understanding and to help create communities where everyone feels welcome.