“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education” - Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Written by: Aaron J. Griffen, Chief Equity Officer

Equality is a zero-sum game in which each of us must work hard to achieve our goals, regardless of each person’s starting point. This trope of equality presented by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not the equal hope and determination to achieve an “American Dream,” but the equal ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness. 

Affirmative Action

The Supreme Court of the United States recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, changing the way colleges and universities assess applications. The admission process was already inequitable (test prep opportunities, legacies, etc.). Now they’re even more inequitable. As a result, the resulting feelings across the nation have ranged from shock and despair to surprise and joy. This attack on affirmative action is just the latest in a war that has been waged since its inception. These challenges include Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978) and Fisher v. University of Texas. In both instances Affirmative Action was upheld and found to be constitutional in majority decisions. Given the context of our nation, one can’t help but wonder, what changed? 

The founding purpose of affirmative action was to “reverse historical trends of discrimination against individuals with certain identities.” The historical trends of discrimination against individuals with certain identities, including Jim Crow era laws, which forbid African American/Black people from working alongside white people, from entering certain colleges and universities and from working certain jobs. Such trends expanded to women, people who are Jewish and other racial and religious groups, so affirmative action policies grew to include many other marginalized groups. 

Weaponizing Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was never meant to ensure unqualified people would receive opportunities over qualified applicants. The goal was to ensure those who were qualified from historically marginalized groups had a fair chance at attaining higher education and jobs, thus reversing years of discrimination and racism by law. Despite the multiple examples of students of color, particularly Black and Brown, achieving and entering college with the prerequisite grades and test scores, there persists a societal undercurrent and belief that certain groups are, by default, superior to others. Although ruling for the majority, even Justice Clarence Thomas had an uphill battle as a recipient of affirmative action: “You had to prove yourself every day because the presumption was that you were dumb and didn’t deserve to be there on merit.”  Claims that the removal of affirmative action means the people can finally “earn” their opportunities are further examples that “fair and equal” remain merely an experiment. DSST will remain steadfast in our commitment to “eliminate educational equity” and “actively working to ensure that outcomes of DSST students are high-achieving and do not correlate with any predictable social or cultural factors.”

What Does This Mean for K-12 (and DSST)

We are sure there will be  ripple effects of this ruling, but we will uphold our mission and stand behind every effort to end educational inequities. College and career skills counseling are fixtures in DSST as well as in many other schools and districts. Our College Success team remains focused on ensuring our students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships and acceptance in four-year universities. They have a game plan, and we are in the process of making connections and learning right now on how best to navigate this change to minimize the impact on our student’s college acceptances. 

DSST's Call to Action

So what does this mean for us individually and collectively? Our charge to fulfill our mission, our definition of educational inequity and our commitment to our families remains steadfast and is more important than ever. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of educators working every day to make this happen. We each need to ensure we are breaking down barriers in our teaching practices every day (e.g., hitting our GPA goals) and inspiring our students to reach their best potential. Our mission and our graduate profile point us in the right direction. When our students graduate from a DSST school with a strong sense of self, when they are academically prepared and have the STEM skills and mindsets for the 21st century, and when they have received the strong college counseling we provide each one of our students, we know they will be prepared to take on the societal inequities that still persist.