VUSD Students Earn Nationwide Accolades from National Education Equity Lab

Visalia Unified School District Students Recognized for High Achievement in College Courses Offered by Nation’s Top Universities

Today, ten Visalia Unified students were named to the 2024-2025 Honor Society of the National Educational Equity Lab (Ed Equity Lab), an education nonprofit that works to bridge the gap between high school and college for students from historically marginalized, low-income communities. These students’ academic performance was in the top 20 percent of all scholars nationwide participating in college credit-bearing courses offered by the nation’s top colleges and universities.

Among the many districts across California, Visalia Unified stands out as the only representative from the Central Valley, showcasing the VUSD Board of Education’s commitment to academic excellence and student success. These students join their peers from 25 states in representing the top 20% of nearly 8,000 students nationwide enrolled in Ed Equity Lab courses during the Spring 2025 semester.

“It is our promise to our community to develop students who are college and career ready,” added Board President Joy Naylor. “As part of this commitment, our District’s strategic plan includes an action item to expand access to and opportunities for advanced coursework and experiences.”

Students in this year’s Honor Society were recognized in a ceremony on August 27, 2025 featuring university professors, high school teachers, district leaders, family, and members of the National Education Equity Lab board.

Below are the 10 students being recognized:

• From Golden West
  • Victor Loera; Morehouse College, Professional Computing, Top 10%
  • Braelyn Requejo; Morehouse College, Professional Computing, Top 15%
  • Man Yu Wu; Morehouse College, Professional Computing, Top 15%
  • Gabriel Arnold; Morehouse College, Professional Computing, Top 20%
• From Mt. Whitney High School
  • Lily Saelee; Arizona State University, Introduction to Cloud Computing; Top 10%
  • Habib Sami; Arizona State University, Introduction to Cloud Computing; Top 20% 
  • Allison Brensel; Arizona State University, Introductory Sociology; Top 10%
  • Analucia Larios Ceballos; Arizona State University, Introductory Sociology; Top 15%
  • Emily Herrera, Arizona State University, Introductory Sociology; Top 15%
  • Linda Herrera-Campos; Arizona State University, Introductory Sociology; Top 20%

“We are proud of our students for receiving this nationwide recognition. Through our board’s commitment to fund dual enrollment courses, we aim to show students that a college degree is within their reach,” added Superintendent Kirk Shrum.

The National Education Equity Lab partners with top colleges and universities to deliver—and support — actual college credit-bearing courses in teacher-led Title 1 high school classrooms across the country, at scale. Participating students gain the opportunity to take rigorous college courses from top professors, with weekly live discussions led by university teaching fellows, co-taught by teachers at their high schools. Scholars earn widely transferable college credits and a transcript from the offering institution upon successful completion. Starting in 2019 with a single Harvard humanities course in 25 high schools, the Ed Equity Lab has now served 20,000 students across 31 states, and aims to offer this opportunity in all eligible underserved high schools in the nation.