Growing up, Lindsey Weatherspoon was used to attending largely Black elementary and middle schools. But at Venice High School, where she is now a junior, the student body is just 13% Black.
Though it’s a significant Black population for a high school in Los Angeles Unified, she’s still one of the few Black students in many of her classes. And creating a sense of community in high school wasn’t as easy as she believes it should’ve been. So she felt encouraged when the district announced it would be launching a plan known as the Black Student Achievement Plan to provide socio-emotional and academic support to its Black students.
Under that program, schools with sizable Black student populations — at least 200 students — are supposed to have a BSAP team of counselors, climate advocates and psychiatric social workers, though some positions remain unfilled. The first two rounds of funding were given to 110 elementary, middle and high schools. https://edsource.org/2023/advocates-push-los-angeles-unified-to-better-support-its-black-student-achievement-plan/687839