Voluntary affinity courses aim to close achievement gaps
Evanston Township High School (ETHS) leaders have grappled with major academic disparities between Black, Latino, and White students for years in this diverse college town outside Chicago. In 2019, the district introduced a new strategy: voluntarily separated classrooms categorized by student race.
Nearly 200 Black and Hispanic students currently enroll in ETHS’s suite of math and writing “affinity courses” instructed exclusively by same-race teachers. District officials state these optional classes aim to foster student comfort and engagement while combatting achievement divides where students of color chronically underperform.
“Our Black students still rank at the bottom,” School Board Vice President Monique Parsons said bluntly at a November meeting. “It’s not good.”
Nationally, metrics like standardized test scores, advanced course enrollment, and graduation rates tilt significantly toward White pupils over Black and Latino counterparts. School districts have attempted various targeted interventions with inconsistent results.
Mainstream K-12 education generally mandates integrated classrooms, but legal exceptions exist permitting optional racial self-segregation. Public schools cannot compel separation by race, but voluntary opt-in courses comply under federal law. Still, affinity formats remain rare — typically confined to peripheral electives or after-school programming.
Early research connects specialized affinity spaces to modest academic improvements and better retention for participating students of color. However, some experts argue colorblind instruction best enables equitable outcomes.
“We want students treating each other based solely on shared humanity,” said American Enterprise Institute education scholar Max Eden.
Affinity proponents emphasize appropriately implementing the controversial courses with extensive groundwork and oversight.
“I spend years building political and social capital before expansions,” said Christopher Chatmon, founder of the Kingmakers of Oakland initiative supporting young Black males. Now Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle school districts partner with Kingmakers providing specialized programming.
A 2019 study of Oakland’s inaugural Black male class showed decreased dropout rates among enrolled students. Oakland also offers various affinity options for Latino, Asian, and Arab pupils said a district official.
The Evanston Township affinity program goes further than supplementary electives, directly enrolling Black and Hispanic students into core subjects like Algebra, Pre-Calculus, and AP Calculus. Offerings also include an English seminar class called AXLE (Advancing Excellence, Lifting Everyone) for Black students and GANAS (Spanish for “giving your all”) for Latino youth.
The small-scale experiment began in 2019 with a Black pre-calculus pilot group. Despite conspicuous public intrigue, district leadership dodged interview requests about the courses for months. Administrators once cancelled a scheduled parent meeting after a Wall Street Journal reporter arrived seeking perspectives.
In a student newspaper interview, Superintendent Marcus Campbell said affinity classrooms ease anxiety for marginalized advanced course students acclimating to predominantly White environments.
Evanston High School’s approximately 3,600 students are 44% White, 24% Black, 20% Latino, and 5% Asian. The economically diverse area includes both affluent Northwestern University-associated households alongside working-class families.
An official Evanston Township goal declares: “Recognizing that racism most greatly diminishes student achievement, ETHS pledges eliminating academic performance predictability based on race.”
Via public records requests, the Journal obtained enrollment statistics showing 105 students currently attending GANAS math classes and 72 students in AXLE math. Fourteen enrolled in AXLE’s 10th grade English seminar.
The district has not published outcome data analyzing affinity pilot efficacy over its three years of existence. However, teacher conference presentations included various student testimonials highlighting improved comfort within segregated environments.
One Black teenager remarked: “I feel less pressure representing my entire race answering questions incorrectly.” Another GANAS participant simply stated: “I finally feel welcomed and accepted.”
Broader school statistics reveal sizeable Advanced Placement (AP) participation gaps — around 75% of White high school upperclassmen enroll versus just 25% of Black students. Analogous racial imbalances emerge in AP test passing rates closely linked to college admission eligibility.
In 2021-22, 80% of White exam takers earned qualifying scores for potential university credit, compared to only 48% of Black students. Mitigating Evanston Township’s systemic performance divisions motivates this controversial affinity plan.
“The goal isn’t having segregated algebra,” said veteran Evanston High School racial equity consultant Glenn Singleton said. “It’s ultimately parity.”
While still a fledgling experiment lacking comprehensive evaluations, ETHS’s voluntary race-based classes reveal one school system’s unconventional efforts grappling with complex disparities. Structured appropriately, localized affinity interventions may aid marginalized students nationally if expectations remain realistic.
Going forward, Evanston Township’s bold initiative offers a fascinating test case gauging viability for similar ethnic-conscious education programs countrywide.