OEABE members have extensive experience working in and with schools that have improved the educational outcomes of K-12 students from all cultural backgrounds. However, literacy proficiency scores overwhelmingly show that students of African-American descent continue to lag behind their ethnic peers. Therefore, in 2022, the organization adopted literacy as its primary focus for the foreseeable future. Even though schools are working hard to improve the literacy skills of all students, reading proficiency scores for most students of African-American descent still lag those of their ethnic peers, and the gap is widening.