CULVER CITY, Calif. — The Culver City Unified School District is the fourth most diverse district in California, yet school officials say many of their Black students have historically fallen through the cracks.

Now, the city’s school board of education has an action plan to set these students up for success.

What You Need To Know

  • A new Black Student Achievement Plan Resolution, passed by the school board, aims to address opportunity gaps that school leaders say have long hindered students
  • School Board member Triston Ezidore points to startling statistics that show half of Black students are reading below a third-grade level
  • The resolution notes that of about 7,100 students enrolled in the school district, nearly 13% identify as African American
  • It also directs the superintendent to create an advisory committee that will include Black student voices

Ornella Dubuche is a senior at Culver City High School with the world at her fingertips. She just isn’t quite sure what to do with it yet.

“I want to travel the world, but I also want to do marine biology, but I also want to do psychology,” she said.

She also loves expressing herself as an artist, creating the artwork she was holding to represent the nuances of her mind, body and soul. She was honored for it at a celebration showcasing the art of Black Culver City High School students hosted by city leaders and elected officials at a local bookstore.

Ornella said she’s attended this school district since fifth grade and started to notice significant room for improvement when she got to high school.

“There’s just been a lot of problems that we need to fix, so I’ve been really big on that and voicing my opinion to teachers,” she explained.

Things like hiring new security guards on campus that she said aren’t helpful, instead of using that money to upgrade the buildings.

The increased police presence shifts the sense of safety for Black students on campus said School Board member Triston Ezidore, who recently graduated from Culver City high himself and has heard several complaints.

It’s just one of many ways he said Black students have faced barriers within the district, which is why he’s ecstatic to lead the effort on a historic Black Student Achievement Plan Resolution, which was unanimously passed by the school board.

“The Black Student Achievement Plan Resolution just acknowledges the systemic injustices that our educational system is embodying and our test scores are, quite frankly, embodying,” he said.

Moved to tears after hearing spoken word from one student attending, Ezidore points to startling statistics that show half of Black students are reading below a third-grade level.

They’re also suspended over three times as often as their counterparts. He said this resolution will create a specific plan tailored to the success of Black students to be implemented by the next school year.

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Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove represents this area and said she’s working to connect it with federal funding included in recent legislation.

“What we now have to do is get that money out,” Kamlager-Dove said. “We need better schools, we need better roads, we need better digital services and there are millions, if not billions, of dollars out there for that.”

Ornella said that’s a step in the right direction for people of color like her.

“Mostly, [people of color] don’t have the privilege of having those resources to get better in these classes or to get help, so I think having that just gives people an equal chance to do well,” she said.

The resolution notes that of about 7,100 students enrolled in the school district, nearly 13% identify as African American. It also directs the superintendent to create an advisory committee that will include Black student voices.