Iris Peng, Youth Essay Contest Winner
Upon looking into a typical high school located in the eastside suburbia outside of Seattle, one witnesses a myriad of advanced courses taken by the majority, guidance counselors that hold individual meetings to evaluate the wellbeing of students, and thousands of dollars’ worth of textbooks piled in the back of each classroom, pristine and unused. As one of these students roaming around said suburban high school, I find that both myself and those around me often forget that we live in a bubble shielded from the realities of the education system.
The key issue that our public education system encounters currently is the drawing of district lines, which contributes to a subtle but significant form of de-facto segregation. The origins of this problem arose from the 1974 Milliken v. Bradley Supreme Court case, which ruled on a 5-4 decision that school districts were not obligated to desegregate unless proven that the district lines were purposefully drawn with racist intent. Therefore, although there could be integration actions such as forced busing within district lines, the separation of districts could still contribute to socio-economic segregation—exactly what is happening in the status quo.
A century ago the drawing of district lines would have had less of an impact on educational opportunities. However, the 1950s-60s period of white flight altered this outcome. Due to the imbalance in demographics between urban centers and the suburbs, the way district lines were drawn allowed middle-class Caucasian students to attend school together, leaving behind lower-class minorities in urban districts. Consequently, the lowest-ranked high school in a neighboring suburbia could have a higher educational quality than the city’s best.
You may ask, what are the factors that contribute to these educational differences? The first issue is the quality of the teachers. Because suburban residents tend to pay higher property tax, their districts can direct more funding to pay for highly qualified faculty with more experience or higher professional degrees. Additionally, this contributes to the number of advanced (honors, AP, and IB) courses and programs available, because teachers must be able to handle teaching rigorous classes, while districts must pay for the curriculum material. Similarly, suburban school districts often have talented and gifted programs that further the achievement gap between socio-economic classes. Perhaps the most significant contributor to resource disparity is access to modern technology. While several wealthy districts provide free laptops or tablets, students from poorer districts are forced to use outdated physical textbooks to complete homework, which is time-consuming and not specific to current standardized curricula. These factors make it nearly impossible for students in impoverished communities to compare academically to districts that are flooded with overabundance in funding.
When zooming out to the larger scale and magnitude, the achievement gap locks the lower-class, which is largely made up of minorities and marginalized communities, into a cycle of poverty. The capitalist mindset of our country favors individuals who are productive and contribute to the economy. For students, value is measured through test scores and grades that supposedly provide a “preview” to their future success. Those who cannot show educational achievement are abandoned by teachers and by society, instead trapped in the school to prison pipeline, which blocks them from achieving the social mobility required to break racial inequality in the long run. Even though there are several current solutions working towards diminishing de-facto segregation such as affirmative action and the Fair Housing Act, none of these are fully effective regarding the terminal goal. Instead, we must attack the root cause, starting from inequity at youth.
Although the final verdict for dismantling current district lines depends on legislators and the justice system, there are several methods for everyone to contribute to making the process more effective. Because most citizens are unaware of the issue’s implications, the first step I will take is spreading awareness. As someone who participates in competitive policy debate, one immediate action I can take in the debate space is popularizing the argument that the road to combat poverty starts at the institutional segregation of districts. Additionally, I run a blog that garners hundreds of views per month specifically dedicated to discussing social issues, which acts as a platform to bring more light to this specific civil rights topic.
Finally, on the political scale, I may not be able to vote yet, however in the meantime I can endorse certain legislators, movements, and acts. This includes supporting state congressmen who are determined to fight urban poverty and want to pour education funds to disadvantaged city schools. One specific movement that serves as a solution is the Sheff Movement, which promotes integration efforts across districts in Hartford, Connecticut through Open Choice. By supporting the movement in my community and on other platforms, I can bring attention to potential models that more districts can adopt. Furthermore, I will spread my dissent toward the ESSA and other accountability measures that punish students with low test scores instead of attacking the root cause to the achievement gap, as well as publicize disagreement voucher programs that take away resources from traditional systems and perpetuate white flight from public schools. Promotion or opposition can be spread through publishing pamphlets and educational material that outline the benefits or consequences of these programs and acts.
Ultimately, the fight towards true equality will not be an easy one. American society was founded on centuries of institutional barriers and ingrained racism, which will likewise take decades to deconstruct. But now is not the time to give up. We are only halfway to our goal; we have only partially broken down the walls of oppression. As Martin Luther King said, and as former President Barack Obama echoed, “unity is the great need of the hour.” Only unity can tumble the invisible walls that divide our education system.
Upon looking into a typical high school located in the eastside suburbia outside of Seattle, one witnesses a myriad of advanced courses taken by the majority, guidance counselors that hold individual meetings to evaluate the wellbeing of students, and thousands of dollars’ worth of textbooks piled in the back of each classroom, pristine and unused. As one of these students roaming around said suburban high school, I find that both myself and those around me often forget that we live in a bubble shielded from the realities of the education system.
The key issue that our public education system encounters currently is the drawing of district lines, which contributes to a subtle but significant form of de-facto segregation. The origins of this problem arose from the 1974 Milliken v. Bradley Supreme Court case, which ruled on a 5-4 decision that school districts were not obligated to desegregate unless proven that the district lines were purposefully drawn with racist intent. Therefore, although there could be integration actions such as forced busing within district lines, the separation of districts could still contribute to socio-economic segregation—exactly what is happening in the status quo.
A century ago the drawing of district lines would have had less of an impact on educational opportunities. However, the 1950s-60s period of white flight altered this outcome. Due to the imbalance in demographics between urban centers and the suburbs, the way district lines were drawn allowed middle-class Caucasian students to attend school together, leaving behind lower-class minorities in urban districts. Consequently, the lowest-ranked high school in a neighboring suburbia could have a higher educational quality than the city’s best.
You may ask, what are the factors that contribute to these educational differences? The first issue is the quality of the teachers. Because suburban residents tend to pay higher property tax, their districts can direct more funding to pay for highly qualified faculty with more experience or higher professional degrees. Additionally, this contributes to the number of advanced (honors, AP, and IB) courses and programs available, because teachers must be able to handle teaching rigorous classes, while districts must pay for the curriculum material. Similarly, suburban school districts often have talented and gifted programs that further the achievement gap between socio-economic classes. Perhaps the most significant contributor to resource disparity is access to modern technology. While several wealthy districts provide free laptops or tablets, students from poorer districts are forced to use outdated physical textbooks to complete homework, which is time-consuming and not specific to current standardized curricula. These factors make it nearly impossible for students in impoverished communities to compare academically to districts that are flooded with overabundance in funding.
When zooming out to the larger scale and magnitude, the achievement gap locks the lower-class, which is largely made up of minorities and marginalized communities, into a cycle of poverty. The capitalist mindset of our country favors individuals who are productive and contribute to the economy. For students, value is measured through test scores and grades that supposedly provide a “preview” to their future success. Those who cannot show educational achievement are abandoned by teachers and by society, instead trapped in the school to prison pipeline, which blocks them from achieving the social mobility required to break racial inequality in the long run. Even though there are several current solutions working towards diminishing de-facto segregation such as affirmative action and the Fair Housing Act, none of these are fully effective regarding the terminal goal. Instead, we must attack the root cause, starting from inequity at youth.
Although the final verdict for dismantling current district lines depends on legislators and the justice system, there are several methods for everyone to contribute to making the process more effective. Because most citizens are unaware of the issue’s implications, the first step I will take is spreading awareness. As someone who participates in competitive policy debate, one immediate action I can take in the debate space is popularizing the argument that the road to combat poverty starts at the institutional segregation of districts. Additionally, I run a blog that garners hundreds of views per month specifically dedicated to discussing social issues, which acts as a platform to bring more light to this specific civil rights topic.
Finally, on the political scale, I may not be able to vote yet, however in the meantime I can endorse certain legislators, movements, and acts. This includes supporting state congressmen who are determined to fight urban poverty and want to pour education funds to disadvantaged city schools. One specific movement that serves as a solution is the Sheff Movement, which promotes integration efforts across districts in Hartford, Connecticut through Open Choice. By supporting the movement in my community and on other platforms, I can bring attention to potential models that more districts can adopt. Furthermore, I will spread my dissent toward the ESSA and other accountability measures that punish students with low test scores instead of attacking the root cause to the achievement gap, as well as publicize disagreement voucher programs that take away resources from traditional systems and perpetuate white flight from public schools. Promotion or opposition can be spread through publishing pamphlets and educational material that outline the benefits or consequences of these programs and acts.
Ultimately, the fight towards true equality will not be an easy one. American society was founded on centuries of institutional barriers and ingrained racism, which will likewise take decades to deconstruct. But now is not the time to give up. We are only halfway to our goal; we have only partially broken down the walls of oppression. As Martin Luther King said, and as former President Barack Obama echoed, “unity is the great need of the hour.” Only unity can tumble the invisible walls that divide our education system.
