Omaha Case Study

1. In a world filled with injustice, it is only practical that society considers how education may foster those conditions that contribute to inequality among students. The learning environment is essential to the development and formation of citizens who define the world we live in, and educators should lead the charge for a more just, socially equal environment.

In the greater Omaha area, there are numerous school districts with little connection or collaboration among them, despite that their students are integrated socially throughout the city. There are schools that teach primarily to non-English speaking students, specifically Spanish speaking families. This is especially true in the more rural suburbs of Omaha, where schools are governed by local, volunteer school boards. In many ways, these small rural schools are marginalized from the resources, recognition and representation

Many have never had high school graduates in their families. Culturally and financially their children have not been exposed to extra-curricular activities nor educational enhancement opportunities, like clubs and field trips intended to expand their quest for knowledge. The schools often lack the faculty, funding and support that is more obvious in the schools of more populated Omaha, where the school boards are highly educated and professional and whose tax bases are wealthy and generous to education.

2. While the problems of fair recognition, resource allocation, and equal representation are not unique to Omaha, the problems are more complicated due to the variety and experience of the school districts. To level the opportunities, I would address the educational disparities in several ways. At the political level, I would advocate for continuous reassessment of the district boundaries while fighting against the closing of the smaller rural schools, where the cultural confidence of their families is best