The Trump administration\u2019s threat to cut federal funds to schools with race-based programs and a discrimination lawsuit prompted the Fresno Unified School District to restructure its academic support department for Black students.<\/p>\n
Starting with a name change in October, the African American Academic Acceleration department \u2014 still known as A4 \u2014 is now the Advancing Academic Acceleration & Achievement department.<\/p>\n
The district made the name change to avoid losing $250 million in federal funding. The change also shows that the department supports all marginalized racial and ethnic groups, not just African American students, the basis for the lawsuit, district leaders said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot happening at the federal level that we have no control of,\u201d said Lisa Mitchell, executive director of the program. \u201cWhen we think about the threat and loss of $250 million, not only does it impact the students we\u2019re serving in A4, but it impacts students across our entire district.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Eric Payne, executive director of the Central Valley Urban Institute, a policy advocacy organization working in low-income communities, said the name change raises a \u201cdangerous\u201d question about whether equity is a priority for the district.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs the name change an attempt to dilute the focus on Black student equity and set a new precedent that makes other culturally responsive programs vulnerable?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Addressing an achievement gap<\/p>\n
The history of A4 dates back to 2017, when 79% of Fresno Unified\u2019s Black students failed to meet California\u2019s reading standards, and 86% failed to reach math proficiency, according to the state\u2019s assessment results<\/a>.<\/p>\n The district responded by creating A4<\/a> to focus on the academic underperformance of Black students.<\/p>\n \u201cI think for Black families in this community, that was seen as a win \u2014 a $4-million investment from the Fresno Unified school board that grew to a $12-million investment,\u201d Payne said.<\/p>\n A4 academic support programs for elementary students were first implemented during summer and after school, before expanding to year-round services at over a dozen schools with the largest populations of Black, Latino, Afro-Latino, Hmong, Native American and Pacific Islander students. A4 holds workshops for parents to learn how to help their children improve academically. There is an emphasis on providing instructional materials featuring diverse characters that look like students, who often learn about their culture and history from the content.<\/p>\n There were academic gains \u2014 35% of students participating in the after-school reading program in the 2023-24 school year improved by at least one grade level, according to the department\u2019s 2024 report.<\/p>\n For middle school and high school students, the department offers enrichment camps, peer groups and support programs, which provide academic and social-emotional support.<\/p>\n A discrimination lawsuit<\/p>\n In February, the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation filed a discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Fresno Unified families alleging non-Black students were excluded from A4 programs that they were either eligible for or would have benefited from.<\/p>\n