Why is education so important?
Due to circumstances of birth - race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and much more - there exists a vast discrepancy in educational possibilities each student’s future holds: an opportunity gap. A variety of factors contribute to the opportunity gap, and Yleana seeks to tackle these factors that are already severely affecting student outcomes by high school.
The Opportunity Gap
The opportunity gap is the disparity in performance among students of different socioeconomic statuses, races, and genders. This difference can be particularly pronounced in the STEM areas (science, technology, engineering, and math).
This discrepancy can be attributed to a number of factors. Lower achievement in early childhood education can contribute to poor achievement later in life. Research has shown that when children fall behind early in life, it can be difficult to catch up. Poverty can also contribute to the opportunity gap. A difference in quality of resources such as food, healthcare, and environmental stability can lead to poor school achievement. Finally, poor infrastructure and funding for schools in traditionally underserved areas can lead to lower achievement compared to private schools and public schools in areas with higher property tax revenue.
The Opportunity Gap And Test Scores
The opportunity gap can be seen in standardized test scores such as the SAT® exam. Students of color, in particular Black and Latinx students, tend to score lower than white students on both sections of the test.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Fast Facts, Table 171.
The gap between white and Black students on the SAT® math section has persisted at least since 1996. While it has decreased slightly in recent years, white students still tend to score nearly one standard deviation (approximately 100 points) higher than Black students. The ACT also shows a similar racial gap.
SOURCE: The Brookings Institution. (2017). Race gaps in SAT scores highlight inequality and hinder upward mobility. Washington, D.C.: Reeves, R.V., & Halikias, D. LINK
College Access
SOURCE: Sólorzano, D.G., Villalpando, O., & Oseguera, L. (2005). Educational inequities and Latina/o undergraduate students in the United States: A critical race analysis of their educational progress. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4(3), 272-294.
A large proportion of Black and Latinx students do not go to college and even fewer enroll in graduate school. The proportions are far less compared to their white and Asian peers.
Factors for this discrepancy are similar to those related to the opportunity gap as a whole and may include socioeconomic status, lack of understanding of the college application process, poor educational preparedness in high school, and a lack of college preparation in high school.
Having a college degree has been shown to increase starting salaries and can predict overall financial stability in the future. However, the data shows that the opportunity gap persists even after college, with students from historically underrepresented minorities earning less, on average, than their white counterparts.
From this data, we can see how imperative it is that our young people have access to as many resources as possible to help them attain a college education and graduate with as little student debt as possible.
SOURCE: de Brey, C., Musu, L., McFarland, J., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Diliberti, M., Zhang, A., Branstetter, C., and Wang, X. (2019). Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018 (NCES 2019-038). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. 171, Figure 30.2.
How Does The Opportunity Gap Affect Our Students?
The Yleana Leadership Academy serves low-income, primarily minority, first-generation college goers from urban areas. Yleana works to lower the opportunity gap for our students by increasing SAT® scores, helping students with the college application process, and placing them in a college setting where they can visualize themselves as college students. Yleana seeks to make college more attainable for our students by increasing their SAT® scores, connecting them with mentors to help with the college application process, and showing them that they can be successful in college.
Yleana does not end when the summer program is over - we track our students over the course of their senior year in high school, connecting them with resources, scholarships, and mentorship and helping with college applications.
We want our students to have the same resources and benefits as their peers so that they have an equal chance of reaching their goals.
Yleana’s 2019 student superscore on each section of the test after 3 weeks for students who identify as Black, Latinx, and multiethnic
College Persistence
First generation college goers are at increased risk of leaving college before attaining a degree. This can be compounded when considering socioeconomic and racial factors. There may be several reasons for this, such as:
Leaving home and living in a new environment can be a culture shock. Students of color — especially those who are used to a homogeneous environment in their neighborhoods back home — can find it difficult to be in a predominantly white environment
Many of our students come from supportive, loving homes and cultures that value close family relationships. Students can become very homesick and can feel isolated when away at school
Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds frequently have jobs while they are attending college. They often work longer hours than middle- to upper-middle-class students. They may experience greater burden and stress due to the difficulty of juggling work and academics
Financial reasons may result in the student commuting rather than living on campus, which increases the difficulty of attending school full time
Difficulty connecting with individuals who share a different background and culture can make acclimating to college difficult
SOURCE: Deangelo, L., Franke, R., Hurtado, S., Pryor, J.H., & Tran, S. (2011). Completing college: Assessing graduation rates at four-year institutions. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
Studies have shown that SAT® scores do not significantly improve prediction of degree attainment. That is why Yleana is a unique intervention that takes a holistic look at college access and attainment.
Not only do we improve SAT® scores, but we also bring our students out of their home environments to a new place several hours away. They live on a college campus. They room with peers from an entirely different city. They come to realize that not only are they academically capable of thriving in the rigorous environment of college, but they have the social grit to succeed as well.
Many of our alumni have stated that coming to Yleana helped them realize that they could leave home and go to college, make friends with new people, and be open and accepting of new experiences. These are key feelings to have for first-generation college goers, the lack of which can lead to dropping out and failure to attain a degree.
The following testimonials from our student surveys capture some of Yleana’s holistic benefits.
“I loved the sense of a family that Yleana gave me.”
“I feel like I’m less attached to my phone than I initially was...I’m leaving Yleana valuing the importance of living in the moment and creating strong friendships.”
“Yleana has made college seem more accessible and realistic, as well as happiness within college seem attainable as well.”
“Yleana helped me with my anxiety and my confidence levels significantly. I used to feel so small and nervous, but Yleana changed my life forever. :)”
“I really love that Yleana is much more than just SAT practice. I love how the staff genuinely cares for the students here and makes them feel like they actually matter which is extremely different from what I’m used to.”
“Yleana taught me how to believe in myself and that the power I wish to achieve already resides within me. Coming to this revelation has prepared me for any challenge, especially the SAT.”
“Along with increasing my SAT score, I was able to better myself and escape from my home environment...being away from home allowed me to distract myself, better myself, and make a new family.”
“I think I’ve grown more in confidence and self-esteem here than I ever have anywhere else. I have so much trust and love for myself and for what I’m capable of doing that I don’t think I would’ve come to had I not come here. Being at Yleana has made me a much more thoughtful person as well as one that is more willing to experience new things, something I’m endlessly grateful for.”
Critical Thinking Skills
College preparedness in the traditional sense has focused on preparing students academically. Yleana staff has found that true college preparedness means fostering critical thinking skills on multiple levels both in and outside of the classroom.
Yleana fosters critical thinking skills in many ways throughout the day:
In class, the Socratic teaching style promotes critical thinking. Students are encouraged to come to epiphanies rather than have the answers dictated to them. This not only promotes independent problem solving but raises students’ sense of self-efficacy.
Our unique strategies in the reading, writing, and math sections encourage students to find the simplest, most elegant solution, use context clues to promote their own understanding, and reason through answers logically and succinctly. We strive to make our teaching and the subject matter relevant to the students’ daily lives. Studies have found that “two-footed questioning,” or questions that relate subjects like geometry back to the students’ own lives, helps with engagement and learning. The same can be true of the SAT® exam. The skills our students learn in our SAT® classes can all translate to skills necessary for success not only in college but everyday life. These skills include critical thinking, flexibility, and information processing.
Yleana’s design thinking class combines Socratic inquiry, the scientific method, and the basic principles of iterative development to help our students grow their critical thinking skills and their creativity. We also focus on specific experiential skills like writing a business email, networking, dressing for success, dealing with folks in positions of power and asking them for what you need - helping them polish the soft skills they will need to apply to college and navigate the post-college “real world.”
One-day startup entrepreneurship fair allows our students to create their own business from an idea. They must research their business proposals, think of the problem from all angles, and provide solutions under the scrutiny of experienced entrepreneurs. They are asked to problem solve under pressure, present their findings in front of a panel of judges, and work as a team to make something from nothing.
Throughout this process our students are tired, frustrated, and challenged, but in the end they become confident, young intellectuals who know they are capable of productive innovation under pressure.
Issues class allows our students to formulate their own opinions on social issues relevant to their daily lives. They are able to develop the very same skills they’ll need in college to analyze readings, formulate an opinion, and defend or change their positions with peers and counselors.
Through our Imagination Lectures, games, activities, and group functions we promote creative expression and imaginative play.
Studies have shown that the ability to think creatively and exercise imagination are linked to more flexible thinking and problem solving skills. We want our students not to just succeed academically because it is expected of them; we want them to discover a passion and joy for learning, discovering new things, and having fresh ideas.
Flexible thinking doesn’t just allow students to learn better. It also provides them with the resiliency to deal with failure, moderate stress and anxiety, and bounce back from negative experiences. These skills are crucial for intense college environments in which our students will not only be challenged in the classroom but out on campus in everyday interactions with classmates. Our students have varied interests and are heavily involved once they attend college. They will experience successes but they will also experience failures, setbacks, and disappointments. We want to imbue them with the confidence that they can succeed AND provide them with the skills to persist through their roadblocks.