Our Work

Hosted the first-ever Black and Brown Forum for Educational Equity and Excellence, attended by more than 1,200 parents, students and community members, and publicly called on county leaders to commit to taking specific and measurable action on the asks presented. (English/Spanish)

Presented at the NAACP Parents’ Council kickoff event, discussing the importance of ensuring all students have access to rigorous coursework.

Presented testimony to the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) in support of funding to fight resource inequity.

Testified before the BOE regarding our asks to increase equity for Black, Brown and low-income students in schools.

Submitted testimony to the county council urging targeted investments in expanding learning opportunities for Black and Brown students whose learning was impacted by COVID-19.

Submitted testimony to the Montgomery County Delegation in the Maryland House and Maryland Senate encouraging them to override Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Bill. The bill focuses on improving Maryland’s early childhood, primary and secondary education systems.

Recommended improvements through a letter to the Montgomery County Superintendent regarding the budget for MCPS requesting that they make allocations through an equity lens.

Submitted testimony to the BOE regarding the budget for MCPS requesting that they make allocations through an equity lens.

Released a press release and the results of a survey of Montgomery County parents regarding the impact of distance learning on their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cited by the Montgomery County BOE in a statement on their “Commitment to Equity, Justice and Excellence”. Their commitment includes working with the Coalition. They stated, “We will continue our work with the Black and Brown Coalition and other allies to ensure that our policies, practices and procedures are equitable.”statement on their “Commitment to Equity, Justice and Excellence”.

Submitted video testimony and a letter to the Montgomery County BOE to stress the importance of taking racial equity into consideration during budget negotiations.

Supported the Maryland Alliance for Racial Equity in Education (MAREE) release of “An Equity Guide for Reopening Maryland’s Schools.” The guide recommends strong measures to recover learning loss for African American, Latino and lower-income children facing inequities.

Held a virtual forum entitled “Seeking Accountability on Promises Made to Black and Brown Children.”

Submitted a letter to Montgomery County Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith and the Montgomery County BOE regarding the MCPS reopening plan and providing equity for all children.

Quoted in a Seek Common Ground letter about the COVID-19 Recovery Action Accelerator, which focuses on elevating the voices of the most impacted – families, students and educators – for school reopening planning and ongoing dialogue.

Testified before the Montgomery County BOE via video regarding ongoing inequity for Black, Brown and low-income children in Montgomery County.

Partnered with Bar-T and the Children’s Opportunity Fund to launch an Educational and Enrichment Equity Hub to Montgomery County children for just $50/month per child.

Submitted a letter to Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith and the Montgomery County BOE regarding the MCPS Reopening Plan.

Released a report, “Securing Educational Equity: Learning From the Lived Experiences of Black, Latino and Low-Income Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” For our study, we partnered with the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health to interview over 50 educators, parents and students regarding the impact of the pandemic and virtual learning on Black and Brown families.

Adopted two new educational equity advocacy priorities regarding recovery of learning loss/accelerated learning and culturally and linguistically competent engagement.

Testified before the Montgomery County Council on behalf of Black and Brown students and those from families with low incomes.

Submitted a letter to the Montgomery County BOE calling out what we see as actions critical for the success of our Black and Brown students and those from families with low incomes.

Published an op-ed asking the community to join together in demanding concrete steps to get our children back on track and combat alarming rates of learning loss.

Published the inaugural newsletter regarding educational equity and provided an overview of the Coalition’s work over the past year.

Hosted a virtual forum with Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith and members of the county council. We brought together over 1,200 people to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black and Brown students’ learning loss.

In response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning, the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence partnered with the Children’s Opportunity Fund to establish Educational Equity and Enrichment Hubs (EEHs) in 2021. The EEHs provided a place for students to learn virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving them access to basic needs that they may not have otherwise had at home, including access to technology, regular meals and adult supervision.

Analyzed the data published by MCPS at their September 21, 2021, BOE meeting from the 2020-2021 Evidence of Learning end-of-year performance data.

Hosted a virtual forum with Interim Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight. We brought together over 1,000 people to discuss parents’ concerns regarding learning loss, access to educational resources and school safety.

Hosted a virtual forum with Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury regarding the Accountability and Implementation Board Blueprint, with over 300 parents in attendance.