Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools announced Monday the district received a grant to support work addressing the racial equity gap in school systems.

The Trustees of Oak Foundation approved the request of $4.3 million over three years to the CHCCS system and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation for the Students First: Equity Through Opportunity grant. The school district will receive $3.5 million, while PSF will receive $800,000 during the three-year grant period. PSF will have fiscal monitoring responsibilities for the funds received from the Oak Foundation to serve Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, according to the release.

CHCCS Superintendent Pam Baldwin said the project’s ultimate goals are to provide equitable opportunities to every child in the district by focusing on improvement of student growth, achievement gaps and social emotional wellness.

“While some might point to state rankings as a measure of overall district accomplishment, we know that not every child in our care is receiving the education needed for lifetime success,” Baldwin said in a release. “The change we would like to see from this project is a decreased achievement gap between student groups, specifically students of color, English learners and students with disabilities.”

Racial equity is a challenge CHCCS has aimed to address for many years. The school system passed an equity plan in 2017 to update its policies and methods of handling other inequalities in addition to race, such as gender and nationality.

Methods included in the grant to achieve its goals include early exposure to school experiences, sustaining literacy development and mastery, support for transition to middle school, and opportunities to access advanced courses. It also includes having staff participate in training about racial equity to establish a common language, practice and purpose.

“Closing the achievement gap, and ensuring a successful school experience for every child, remain our primary goals,” senior executive director of Leadership and Strategy Dr. Misti Williams said in the release. “This grant will significantly impact our work with children and families.”

The goal is by the third year of the grant, 650 CHCCS staff members will have received foundational Racial Equity Training, including principals, assistant principals, new teachers, social workers, counselors and more. The training will include lessons on historical context for systemic racism, development of leadership for racial equity, application of a racial equity lens and culturally relevant coaching.

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