Despite a diversifying student population, the school district has not been able to reflect that growth, with teachers and administrators overwhelmingly white. Pressure to hire black and minority teachers has persisted since the 1960s. Though a few black teachers were hired in the mid-1970s, they did not stay. By 1980, with only one black teacher in the district, the Geneva NAACP held protests, stating this lack of role model contributed to a high dropout rate among black students.
Local agencies have intervened in early literacy among minority groups outside the schools. Interested in improving graduation rates, Geneva 2020 (now Geneva 2030, under Hobart and William Smith Colleges) was created as a collective impact initiative to support the education of Geneva’s children from “cradle to career.”
For decades, the African American Men’s Association has given scholarships to students of color who wish to continue on in higher education in addition to offering their signature programs: Young Champions Mentoring and College Life Skills. Photo courtesy of the AAMA.
Success for Geneva’s Children (established in 1997) has measured recent graduation rates, seeing an improvement among Black students from 44.8% in 2010 to 88.9% in 2019. Head Start’s Cecilia Rodriguez introduces Success story Rashakim Hudson, GHS’18, at an event in 2018. Success for Geneva’s Children Facebook.
Established in 2007, Geneva Reads promotes literacy among all of Geneva’s youth in English and Spanish by distributing free books at book fairs and community events. Residents at Courtyard Apartments have their pick from a diverse selection of children’s books in 2021. Geneva Reads Facebook.
In 2022 teachers Valarie Coleman (right) and Tonya Luna received money from the Becky Addona TLC Grant Foundation to start new classroom projects about birds. Geneva City School District Instagram.