The Umoja Community Education Foundation is committed to ensuring that students are our highest priority. Our team of dedicated staff, coordinators, faculty, and administrators aim to promote student success for all students. We take a holistic approach in our efforts to meet the needs of all students. We accomplish our goals through a commitment to our mission, vision, and strategic initiatives.
- Touching the Spirit (We operationalize a holistic approach to reach each student—Body, Mind, and Spirit)
- Building Community (We work to create environments that encourage students to be accountable to each other’s learning)
- Connections to the African Diaspora (We work to expand students' cultural awareness of the Diaspora and articulate their place in that experience)
- Ethic of Love (We express compassion and care in the learning community)
- Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Practices (We develop curriculum that is relevant to the student's lives for learning)
- Ritual (We engage in cultural practices rooted in African traditions to strengthen the community and the people within the community)
The Umoja Community Education Foundation is committed to program implementation that is driven by data. We are proud to share data and research from a diverse spectrum of partners. This page is dedicated to highlighting reports that have been generated to enhance our organization's mission. For more information about our research and data, contact us at info@umojacommunity.org.
- Umoja Evaluation Phases I and II: The RP Group is conducting a two-phase evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Umoja program across the state. LINK
- Umoja: The Power of Unity and Community (Umoja White Paper): The Umoja white paper is a comprehensive review of the Umoja Community Education Foundation. The paper was authored by Rose Asera, Ph.D., a qualitative researcher and evaluator who has worked in higher education for more than twenty-five years. The paper was initially funded by a grant from Learning Works. Umoja White Paper Link
- Umoja Report from the Institute for Social Research (ISR): The Umoja Community Education Foundation contracted with the Institute for Social Research, at California State University, Sacramento to conduct an independent evaluation of their programs across the state and to determine the effectiveness of its activities. This evaluation includes Umoja student survey data from 2017-2018 and Umoja student record data from 2011 to 2016 and examines their short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of participating in the Umoja program. ISR Report Link/ISR Report Appendices
- Umoja Community Evaluation from the Research and Planning (RP) Group: The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) partnered with Umoja Community leadership to conduct a study that assesses statewide efforts to support Umoja program coordinators. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the technical assistance, resources, and trainings offered by the statewide Umoja Community to support local Umoja programs. Umoja program coordinators from a representative sample of statewide programs and institutions were invited to participate. This report summarizes the feedback and insights gleaned from interviews with nine program coordinators and one instructional faculty member (program coordinators) who volunteered to participate. RP Report Link.
- The State of Higher Education in California is a series of reports by the Campaign for College Opportunity that provide comprehensive data on the current state of college access and completion for our state and what it means for our economy. This report analyzes the state of Black Californians in education. Specifically, this report reviews preparation, enrollment, and success in college for Black Californians. It also recommends actions that our policymakers and college leaders can take in order to improve college enrollment and graduation rates. This report on Black Californians is the second in the 2018-19 State of Higher Education in California series. State of Higher Education for Black Californians Report Link
- Black Minds Matter: Supporting the Educational Success of Black Children in California, examines how the nearly 1 million Black youth in California are faring from preschool through college and reveals the distressing disparities that newly released state and national data show persist at all levels of their educational journey. The report also highlights the groundbreaking efforts underway to reverse these trends in California and close achievement and opportunity gaps for African American students. Black Minds Matter Report Link
