One of the school districts with over 75 percent of its African-American student body graduating is located on the West Coast. Out of 271 African-American students who attended Berkeley High School, 205 graduated last year. That's one of the highest African-American graduation rates in the country. The Berkeley Unified School District made closing the education gap a top priority.

Just three years ago the school district, led by a grassroots coalition of community, civic and religious organizations, including the group Parents of Children of African Descent initiated a program called the 2020 Vision program. The program's sole focus is to close the achievement gap in Berkeley public schools by the year 2020.

In June 2008, the Berkeley City Council and Berkeley Unified School District School Board adopted resolutions that sought to improve education along racial lines to eliminate disparities between white and Asian students and black and Latino kids.

"It's not just the district. It's the city of Berkeley, the university, the people and faith-based organizations," said Debbi D'Angelo District Director of Research and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment. "It's just so powerful. Everybody is working together."

Read the full story at theGrio.com.

All statements and opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors, and not of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or NBC News.