Community must back academy

The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success has been serving Cedar Rapids for decades, providing Black and biracial students with educational opportunities that extend beyond classroom learning.

That includes teaching students about Black history, literature, mathematics, science, financial literacy, and a postsecondary seminar that helps students prepare for college and achieve success once they arrive. For 30 years, the academy has partnered with the Cedar Rapids Community School District on recruiting students and funding.

The academy, founded by Dr. Ruth White, is considered a local success story. It “exists to instill pride in and deepen understanding of African American culture — not as an end in itself, but as a powerful tool to inspire academic achievement, positive behaviors, postsecondary success, and engaged citizenship for our students” according to a column by White and Wes Butterfield, a member of the executive board and treasurer. that will appear in Sunday’s Gazette.

However, last week, news broke that the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights informed the district that it must sever ties to the academy. If the district failed to comply, it could lose $15 million in federal grants.

The Trump administration has targeted any programs that seek to enhance opportunities for Black students or other minority groups. The Office of Civil Rights believes these programs are discriminatory, as the administration attempts to eliminate all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.

Apparently, getting rid of DEI is more important than finding ways to close the achievement gap between Black and white students. Cedar Rapids schools have regarded reducing the gap as a major goal of the district.

“At a time when conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion are too often dismissed as optional — or worse, viewed as divisive, The Academy SPS remains clear: these values are essential. They are the framework through which to uplift young people, empower families, and strengthen the Cedar Rapids communities. To compromise the work that we do would be to compromise the very reason The Academy exists as an organization,” White and Butterfield write.

This decades-old program existed long before the current battle over DEI. It has provided skills and programming to many community leaders. Sharing information with the school district about students who could benefit from the program has been vital to the ASPS.

It’s a moment when the community makes sure these interactions remain a high priority. The more we think of ourselves as “we,” rather than “me,” the more powerful we will be in solving some of these issues, despite the roadblocks put in place.

The school district has been put in a tough position by federal bureaucrats who have given it a choice between much-needed funding and support for a vital program. Although ASPS can seek to replace the $66,525 provided by the district, covering millions of dollars in federal funding is a significantly more challenging task.

Academy leaders have committed to adapting their programs to enable the school district to continue supporting student recruitment.

“But adaptation is not surrender,” White and Butterfield wrote.

We can lessen the impact of this shortsighted and misguided federal decision. A program that has done so much for Cedar Rapids now needs the community’s help. Leaders must stand up and support the academy and its mission.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com