The mission of the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools (BayCES) is to dramatically improve educational experiences, outcomes, and life options for students and families who have been historically underserved by their schools and districts.

We do this by teaching, coaching and supporting school, district and community leaders to create and sustain systems of equitable and high performing small schools through:
• school-site coaching of principals and teachers
• professional development focused on educational equity
• small school design and district redesign
• technical assistance to new small schools
• networking services
• community partnerships.

At BayCES We Believe

1. Educational equity* can be achieved. Achievement gaps based on race, class, language, or other social difference must be eliminated. We inspire and expect positive change.

2. People (not systems or models) solve problems in education. Positive change happens through relationships and trust.

3. High-performing schools examine data regularly to inform practice. Teaching staff provide each other with timely feedback.

4. Our role as coaches is to increase the capacity of leaders for equitable practices and outcomes. Capacity involves knowledge, skill, and will.

5. Equity requires dialogue about the effects of biases, not to lay blame but to find better ways to educate every child. Progress toward educational equity requires alliances across differences of race, class, language, gender, sexual orientation, and ideology.

* Founded as a regional office of the national Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), in 1998 BayCES changed its name to Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools to emphasize the centrality in education reform of addressing historical and institutional racism, classism, and other biases. (BayCES continues to be an active regional affiliate of CES.)