The partnership’s goal is to improve educational outcomes for Black youth and other underserved students in California.
The UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools (CTS) has been named the research partner for the “Genuine Empathy Nurturing Intellect for Underserved Students” (GENIUS) Initiative, a five-year effort to create more equitable outcomes and learning environments for Black/African American, and other historically underserved students in California.
CTS is collaborating with the Los Angeles County, Kings County, and Sonoma County Offices of Education, which serve as equity leads for the groundbreaking initiative. The partners are selecting and supporting 30 schools across the state to participate in a community of practice to implement practices and strategies to improve student learning and school climate, including culturally responsive instruction and anti-racist strategies.
Drawing on CTS’ ‘Beyond the Schoolhouse’ research and other initiatives to better meet the educational needs of Black/African American and other underserved students, CTS will provide technical assistance and strategic guidance, as well as evidence-based tools and additional resources in support of the GENIUS network. In doing so, CTS will work with equity partners to support ongoing measurement of the impact of the network on participating school sites.
“We are proud to support the county offices of education in designing high-impact professional development and transformative resources that empower educators to implement research-based strategies—boosting overall school performance and ensuring success for Black students and all students facing systemic barriers to meaningful engagement in school,” said Angela James, CTS senior project scientist and a lead researcher in the initiative.
The work of the GENIUS Initiative is guided by the “Supporting the African American Learner Roadmap,” co-created by the Los Angeles County Office of Education & CTS in 2021. Key principles of the framework include:
• Exploring belief systems and dismantling deficit-based mindsets that are barriers to effective engagement
• Creating educational systems that facilitate and support learning
• Ensuring and sustaining culturally relevant, high-quality instruction
• Mitigating the accumulation of disadvantage
Schools participating in the initiative will take part in:
- Transformative professional learning communities focused on the use of research-based strategies for improving outcomes for Black/African American and other marginalized student populations
- A three-year Community of Practice, led by expert practitioners and guided by the Supporting the African American Learner research principles
- Coaching and implementation support to drive systemic change at the school level
Work on the initiative has already begun. Joining with the equity lead agencies and other education leaders, representatives of CTS took part in a three-day training focused on research-based strategies, resources, and promising practices to transform educational outcomes and close persistent opportunity gaps. Participants also explored the award-winning framework Supporting the African American Learner: A Guide for Transforming Beliefs, Systems, and Practices for Black Students (STAAL). Representatives of CTS leadership, including Joseph Bishop, Stanley Johnson, and Angela James, also presented a panel, “From Beyond the Schoolhouse to Supporting the African American Learner to the Equity Lead Grant.”
“For too long, Black youth and other historically underserved students in California have been confronted by conditions that stand as roadblocks to learning. GENIUS presents a unique opportunity for school communities to come together with a shared commitment to implementing strategies that can strengthen the educational trajectory for Black students,” said Joseph Bishop, CTS Executive Director.
The GENIUS Initiative, also known as the Equity Lead Grant, was established in 2023 in Senate Bill 114 as a part of the California Statewide System of Support. The Equity Multiplier funding has allocated approximately $300 million across 57 of California’s 58 counties to 1,008 schools, directing funds and providing additional resources to schools with the greatest needs.