Meeting with African American Regional Education Alliances

Greetings from Jesus,

Thanks to workshop attended by Aspire and Achieve member, Cameron, she and I met with Monique August, Executive Director of The African-American Regional Education Alliances (AAREA) on Thursday, April 16. 

A few statistics from their overview:

• Among those who graduate, only 15% of African American students have completed the courses required for admission to California’s four-year colleges and universities. (State of Blacks in Higher Education in California, Campaign for College Opportunity, December 2013).

• Only 30% of Alameda County African American graduates meet A-G course requirements, compared to 39% for Latino, 58% for Caucasian, and 73% for Asian graduates (California Department of Education, 2013).

The most feasible part of having some form of collaboration is with their Regional Parent Network. However, to join the RPN the student must be a member of their S.T.E.P.S. program. This membership requirement is one we need to look into for Aspire and Achieve, both for S.T.E.P.S. and for ourselves. 

Their mission statement: “AAREA’s mission is to develop collaborative educational services and professional development opportunities that result in improved academic proficiency and college readiness of African American Students.”


We also need to figure out where we best fit among the Alphabet Groups in the Education Field and which ones are best to partner with in a mutually beneficial way.

AAREA will host the 11th Annual African American Student Achievement & Excellence Awards on Saturday, April 25 at Chabot College. This celebration recognizes outstanding African American youth in Alameda County for academic excellence, academic potential and success, cultural leadership and civic involvement, and visual/graphics and performing arts.

Also, mark your calendar for Super Saturday, September 26, Lake Merritt, Lakeside Park - fun run and Back-to-School Rally. 

Connect with AAREA:
online: www.thearea.org
facebook: www.facebook.com/thearea