A new report by the Public Citizens for Children & Youth (PCCY) finds that the conditions in suburban school districts are causing a racial achievement gap between Black and Hispanic students and their White peers, writes Richard L. Gaw for the Chester County Press.

The Coatesville Area School District is already working on solutions; however, superintendent Tomás Hanna acknowledged that diving into racial healing and overcoming inequalities is complex and “messy.”

“When you start to engage in this work, you are going to press some buttons,” he said.

As a part of its efforts, the district has partnered with the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium and Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office to empower leaders at its schools to lead conversations about equity with community members.

The district has also been rewriting its educational curriculum.

“That (effort) is being done by teachers within the district,” said Hanna. “We have identified an equity coordinator who will be supporting the work of our curriculum writers to be sure that we’re looking closely at what we’re creating, to ensure that it is a culturally responsive curriculum for our students.”

Read more about the Coatesville Area School District’s commitment to educational equality in the Chester County Press.