Black students in Oregon continue to experience gaps in educational access and opportunities that appear in early childhood, K-12 and higher education settings. They experience higher rates of poverty, exclusionary discipline and lower graduation rates compared to their White counterparts. Responding to calls from Black Community Leaders to address these and other disparities, OCF launched the Black Student Success Initiative in 2020 to support an improved culture of learning for Black children and youth in Oregon.

The Black Student Success Network (BSSN) is made up of 23 Black-led, Black serving organizations across Oregon. This network is intended to bring together community organizations rooted in the African American/Black community to strategize and provide direction to funders on the best practices that will advance Black children towards success from early childhood through post-secondary education. This initiative is separate, but complimentary to, the Oregon Department of Education’s African American/Black Student Success Plan.