Leadership

In Alabama’s Black Belt Region, there is a lack of opportunity for the development of creative STEM training for middle and high school students. This not only inhibits students’ ability to harness their creativity and technological expertise, but ultimately prevents them from giving back to their communities.

Another problem is the severe gap between the opportunities available for the economically privileged and economically underprivileged and underrepresented minorities across the state. No where is this gap more prevalent than in the Black Belt, where the schools average less than half the math proficiency of non-Black Belt schools. In fact, none of the top 10 math proficient Alabama counties are in the Black Belt, but they account for nine of the bottom 10, and 18 of the bottom 20 counties according to a briefing published by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center.