OAKLEY -- Concerned about black students' academic performance, Freedom High School officials have been reaching out to their parents in hopes of closing the gap between them and their white counterparts.

And initial results suggest that the Oakley school's efforts to encourage black families to become more involved in their child's education is making a difference.

"It's a decades-old issue," said Assistant Principal Mike Wood of the increasing disparities in achievement between racial minorities and white students that have prompted many schools -- particularly those in urban areas -- to take action.

Freedom High, which has nearly a 12 percent black student population, noted the problem in 2011 during a routine self-evaluation that's part of the accreditation process. The school made it a goal to focus on black students. A couple of Wood's colleagues talked with school districts around the state that were tackling the problem effectively and a theme emerged: Eliminate the barriers that discourage parents from participating in their child's education.

"We want to make sure that parents don't feel they are excluded from having a voice in the educational system and oftentimes they do," Wood said.

One of those could be the isolation that a black parent might experience if he or she is the only minority at a parents' meeting or other school function, Wood said, explaining that people are less likely to think their contribution matters if they don't feel they belong.

Other obstacles transcend all racial groups.

Some parents aren't apt to contact their child's teacher or guidance counselor because their perception of school is tainted by a negative experience they had as a student, Wood said.

And too often they adopt a more hands-off approach once their children enter high school, mistakenly believing that they are now mature enough to set academic goals and work toward them on their own, he said.

Joselyn Reed, who has a junior at Freedom High, thinks the school also is coming up against a certain amount of indifference toward higher education based on comments she heard at its first meeting with parents in fall 2013.

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Freedom High outreach to black parents appears to be paying off