2022 Black Well-being Final w links for Web 11.29.22 - Flipbook - Page 27
BLACK WELL-BEING REPORT 2022
BLACK FUTURE CO-OP FUND
Cost of higher education
In 2019, 60% of Black students in the state moved immediately
from high school to college, up from 2015.57 Since the pandemic,
that number has likely declined. More and more, the idea that we all
need a college education is being questioned. Once young people
are ready for post-secondary education, the cost of college and
the debt incurred is a deterrent and stalls economic mobility. Since
Higher education
takes 45% of the
income of an average
Black household in
Washington, down from
61% in 2015.60
1980, the cost to attend a four-year college has increased by 180%.58
There’s also the emotional and psychological cost when attending a
predominantly white institution. Racist experiences in schools erode
Black students’ well-being, bringing up feelings of anger, loneliness,
social isolation, and invisibility.59 Beyond higher education, other
avenues exist to the careers we want to be in, including the trades.
Who is teaching our children and youth
White educators made up approximately 88% of classroom
teachers statewide during the 2018-19 school year, while
white students and students of color made up 53% and 47%
respectively of Washington’s student population.61 In the
2020-21 school year, just 1.5% of Washington’s teachers were
Black.62
For Black children, having teachers who look like them
matters immensely. Black students who had at least one
Black teacher in grades K-3 were 13% more likely to graduate
from high school and 19% more likely to enroll in college than
their same-school, same-race peers. Males and students in
relatively disadvantaged schools would gain the most from
having a same-race teacher.63
In a state that is still majority white, it is critical that white
In 2020-21 school year, 1.5% of
Washington’s teachers were Black.62
students have early and often experiences in which Black
people are in positions of power. These are important
opportunities to disrupt racism at a young age.
27