Held Back

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April 2, 2019

Held Back: Why Austin’s Schools Aren’t Working For Students Of Color

By: Claire McInerny

Graham Elementary in Northeast Austin looks like many schools in the district: Its students are mostly Latino or black, more than half are learning English, and almost all of them come from low-income families. These are some of the major factors that contribute to an achievement gap. Like students in schools with similar demographics, Graham students were not doing well on those state tests before 2007. That changed after Blaine Helwig became principal. Listen to what they tried at Graham Elementary to help their students in this special report by Claire McInerny.