The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity (Flood Center) will serve as a hub to identify and connect organizations, networks, and leaders to address issues of equity, access, and opportunity in education across North Carolina. The Flood Center is born out of the findings and recommendations of the Forum’s Study Group XVI: Expanding Educational Opportunity (2016), co-chaired by Dr. Flood, as well as the Forum’s Color of Education partnership, which aims to achieve racial equity in education across North Carolina through building connections and engagement across fields of research, policy and practice. The Flood Center aims to continue this work by informing discussions on policies impacting equity & social justice, supporting and advancing equity-focused educator programming, and promote discussions around how schools are funded at the local and state levels, in hopes of achieving equity, access, and opportunity for each and every young person in North Carolina.
Equity Definition
Equity reflects a state in which every person’s identity, power, opportunity, and potential are fully realized and life outcomes are no longer predicted by characteristics such as race, economics, ethnicity, location, gender, sexuality, nor disability.
Our Mission
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity strives to work collaboratively to take action toward addressing issues of systemic racism by advocating for structural changes in policy and practice to build an equitable education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of NC’s diverse student population.
Our Vision
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity envisions an education system that provides every student in North Carolina with access to equitable, culturally responsive, and high-quality educational opportunities that lead to success in college, career, and citizenship.
Our Strategic Priorities
Policy, Research, & Advocacy – Provide analysis, recommendations, advocacy, and evaluation of district and state-level policies that enable or hinder equity in schools and for each and every student
Partnerships – Develop and sustain meaningful, collaborative partnerships with organizations, philanthropic entities, schools, and districts to maximize efforts and impacts for students and schools
Capacity Building and Convenings of Stakeholders – Develop and implement convenings, programming, and professional learning opportunities to learn from and build the capacity of students, teachers, parents, administrators, policymakers, and other organizational and community leaders to understand and improve equity in our schools and communities
Outreach, Communications, & Dissemination – Produce, share, and disseminate the Flood Center’s equity-related work, as well as the efforts and products of partners and stakeholders to ensure access and increase and sustain momentum for equity-driven work and solutions
About Dr. Dudley Flood
Dr. Dudley Flood is an educator and champion of school integration in North Carolina. In the years following the Brown v. Board of Education decision that mandated school desegregation in the United States, Dr. Flood traveled to every corner of the state to unite divided communities and work toward integrating our public schools. His legendary commitment to school integration and his belief that every child deserves an equitable educational opportunity will serve as the foundation and beacon for the work at the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity.
Interview With Dr. Dudley Flood
FOCUS In Sound #32: Alfred Mays, Dr. Dudley Flood, Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith
Listen to FOCUS In Sound, the podcast series from the FOCUS newsletter published by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. In this edition of FOCUS In Sound, Dr. Dudley Flood discusses the center named in his honor that is working to advance equitable educational opportunities in North Carolina.