A Moment for the Moral Imagination: The Crucial Role of Centering Race in Reimagining Community Colleges

Dr. Elisha Smith Arrillaga
Executive Director
The Education Trust-West

Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza
Vice President of Instruction
Skyline College

Dr. Daisy Gonzales
Deputy Chancellor
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

More than a year into a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, there is much talk of going back to normal. But COVID-19 only exacerbated a “normal” that’s simply unacceptable: a growing economic divide and opportunity gap between the haves and have-nots. The stark reality is that communities of color and people in lower paying jobs (no matter how essential) are bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s health, economic, and educational pain. That’s especially true of higher education students. When Ed Trust West polled students here in California last May, we saw staggering numbers of students, especially students of color and students from lower income communities, struggling. We heard about lack of engagement in coursework, financial pressure, and uncertain housing access. It was common for respondents to wonder if they’d be able to stay on track to graduate if the crisis didn’t abate by mid-summer. We can only imagine how those students—or perhaps now former students—might answer those questions today.

The chasm between haves and have-nots isn’t new; over centuries, systemic racism and inequality have permeated every facet of American life. So even before the pandemic, students of color, first generation college students, and students from lower-income families faced too many barriers to an affordable, quality college education. Even in states with relatively generous tuition aid programs, students still needed better support to graduate on time and meet basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, and childcare. Our students’ brilliance is not correlated with their parents income. But access to opportunity is. Higher education is where we can begin to turn these numbers around. We all know: that for an individual student, a single teacher, one financial aid application, a few more credits toward graduation can be life-changing. Yet last fall, California voters had a chance to restore affirmative action and instead decided that race and gender diversity don’t need explicit promotion. A whopping $550 million in federal and state aid is left on the table each year in California. Students continue to spend time, energy, and tuition on remedial classes and come away without credit toward graduation or a major. But we know that if we are more explicit about one of the main issues that shows up in college classrooms across the state.

Join Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza, and Daisy Gonzales as they discuss different examples of how colleges have centered race to make bold changes in teaching, hiring, and their accrediting processes that have led to positive change for students. If ever there was a time for this conversation, the time is now. Today, in the early days of 2021, we find ourselves still roiled with crises, but anticipating some measure of relief. It’s a moment in which higher education institutions can play a vital role in ensuring that we use this moment to begin to build a bold, unified society where we can all thrive together. Such a vision is possible. It’s possible with stronger bridges between the PreK-12 systems and higher education institutions. It’s possible with financial aid access for all. It’s possible with diverse faculties trained to bring out the brilliance in each and every student. It’s possible with race-conscious policy-making. It’s possible by listening to and collaborating with students like never before. We look forward to an engaging conversation on these topics.

Strengthening Community Colleges’ Capacity to Attain Racial Equity in Educational Outcomes

Community colleges have the privilege of being the most likely pathway to higher education for racially minoritized students. With that privilege comes the responsibility to exercise leadership that is guided by principles of racial equity and anti-racism. Professor Bensimon frames racial equity as a matter of institutional accountability and organizational learning. She maintains that the most practical pathway to recreating colleges to perform more equitably is through tools that enable leaders and practitioners to bring about self-change in thought and action. In her presentation, she will demonstrate the use of the tools that the Center for Urban Education has created over the last 20 years.

ACCJC reviews (and if needed, revises) its Accreditation Standards every 10 years, in accordance with policy. The review and revision of the 2014 Accreditation Standards is a continuation of ACCJC’s ongoing efforts to advance equitable student success and educational excellence. The Standards Review is also consistent with ACCJC’s core goal of supporting the ongoing learning, improvement, and innovation of its member institutions as they pursue their unique institutional missions, visions and cultures.

ACCJC will facilitate a collaborative and transparent process by working with professionals from the field as the 2025 Standards are drafted. Peer Writing Teams and Peer Reading Teams will work in partnership with ACCJC staff to develop the draft Standards that will be presented to the field for feedback. For those individuals not participating on a Peer Writing or Peer Reading Team, there will be many opportunities to provide feedback throughout the two-year Standards Review Process. Please join us at this session for an update on our progress and check out the ACCJC Standards Review website for more information!