The NAACP said Black students in St. Louis schools are in a literary crisis.
Adolphus Pruitt, the president of the St. Louis NAACP branch, said at an Aug. 20 press conference that the schools in the city of St. Louis have created such poor outcomes for its Black students that it prompted him to file a civil rights complaint against the school districts.
According to the St. Louis Dispatch, Pruitt said that the complaint he is filing against the 34 school districts in both St. Louis city and county highlights a literary crisis.
“The St. Louis region is in a literacy crisis,” Pruitt said at the press conference held in his office. “From our analysis, all the districts including charter schools have issues as it relates to reading. I hope that we reach an agreement with districts to set and achieve goals. We cannot let these kids fail. We hope from there that between the U.S. Department of Education, the NAACP, and those individual school districts, we can have some serious conversations about them setting some goals.”
According to CBS Austin, in 2023 activist Chester Asher noted at a St. Louis Public Schools board meeting that the school’s education system was not invested in educating the Black students it was charged with teaching.
“We will not stand here while you engage in faux deliberation or remain silent while you pave the way for incarceration,” Asher told the school board. “You applaud yourselves while allowing our schools to pile black bodies on top of piles of black bodies, because that is the result of an educational system that does not educate.”
Asher continued, “Your sham, citywide plan sheds no light and provides no direction. Our state test scores are a yearly reminder of your dereliction, and the outcomes for our children and communities require your criminal conviction.”
According to data from the government of the City of St. Louis, the city’s education system seems rife with disparities. According to the website, “At key milestones such as third grade for reading and sixth grade for math, Black students are less likely to demonstrate proficiency. The basic skills students fail to learn early on make every additional learning milestone more difficult to achieve.”
The site also corroborates the concerns of the St. Louis NAACP, saying that there are few schools where Black students meet the state requirements for Math and English.
“There are few schools in St. Louis where it is the norm for students to meet state standards for both Math and English. Black children are less likely than white children to be students at these higher performing schools. Black children are also more likely to attend schools where more teachers are chronically absent and schools where more than 30% of teachers are in their first or second year of teaching.”
According to Fox 2, St. Louis parents are also concerned about the lack of attention school districts are paying to the Black students in their care.
“They started playing with my child’s grades—her reading scores specifically. I know my child can read college books as well as other books, and they’re telling me that she’s reading below her grade level. That’s ridiculous,” Anthony Dorsey, a concerned parent told the outlet. “I think it’s about time they paid attention to our children and our communities.”
Although many schools did not provide comment to Fox 2, KIPP Schools issued a statement that sought to support the actions of the NAACP as well as defend the steps they’ve taken for their students’ benefit.
“We share the NAACP’s commitment to improving the literacy skills of Black and Brown students. We have seen our students make impressive learning gains this past year with our new reading curriculum. Our dedicated teachers look forward to building on this positive momentum in the new school year,” KIPP Schools said.
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