Compton Unified School District (CUSD) Vice President Micah Ali has been selected for two national education leadership positions.
He has been elected Chair of the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE). In addition, he will serve on the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Board of Directors.
Ali welcomes the opportunity to serve and believes that these opportunities will allow him to inform and improve urban educational policy based on the successful model seen in Compton.
“These distinctions are a great honor for Compton and a clear indication of how the turnaround in our schools is being positively viewed,” said Ali. “The education of all children—including low-income, English learners, and foster youth—is an imperative for our times and an issue I am now better able to promote nationally.”
CUSD has seen a marked increase in student test scores, graduation rates and young people qualifying for college in recent years.
CUSD has dramatically increased offerings in STEM education and technology, arts and after school programs which all have contributed to the improving performance.
Ali is determined to use his national leadership positions to highlight specific urban educational policies and challenges across the entire nation—including school equity issues, which will continue to be a major emphasis for him. The stratified education system in the U.S. where some schools get more funding than others hurts children in urban districts like Compton Unified disproportionately.
“For our students to be truly college and career ready they are not only competing with one another and with neighboring districts but also with well-to-do districts,” said Ali. “The equity issue is one that we must address nationally, in California, and in Compton so that all students have a fair chance at succeeding.”
The equity issue is just one piece in the larger struggle to close the achievement gap and provide all students with the opportunity to receive a high-quality education that helps them lead productive and fulfilling lives and become productive contributors to the economy and society.
“As part of CUBE’s mission, we seek to create educational opportunities for urban school board leaders to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective local education policymakers and advocates for excellence and equity in public education,” Ali asserted.
“As Chairman, I want to work with my talented and committed colleagues to examine and test ways to accelerate and replicate successful learning models to push our urban schools forward. The Twenty-First Century’s global competitiveness demands no less.”
