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Funding Gaps and Government Funding
Not only do the families of impoverished children lack resources necessary for success, the school districts themselves lack vital assets as well. In reference to the PISA exam, “the average American PISA reading score for higher-income schools exceeded that of all other developed countries, while the average score for lower-income American schools was far lower” (Friedman). Extreme funding gaps and lack of proper government funding are the main contributors to this drastic distinction in educational success.
Funding gaps, or differences in income between school districts, are primarily due to location; Friedman has determined that “less than 10 percent of school revenue comes from the federal government while about 90 percent comes from the state and local governments” (Friedman). Because of this, “schools with the highest poverty rates received on average nearly $1,000 less per student than schools with the lowest rates” (Friedman). This governmental subsidy is extremely important because without proper funding, districts proceed to lose other essential assets.
The United States Education Department, or ED, established in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter, is a combination of several federal agencies. The goals of the ED, according to the SteveSpanglerScience educational research company, are to establish policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds. The goals consisted of: collecting data on America’s schools and disseminating research, focusing national attention on key education issues, prohibiting discrimination, and ensuring equal access to education (Wells 1). The ED was given roughly a $68 billion budget to create these benefits for imp...
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...m for youth programs and high school classrooms. They give children a chance to obtain mentors specialized in areas of weakness. (EPIC Curriculum). Both of these organizations work closely with the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. (About Us 1). Volunteers and sponsors sponsor impoverished kids, supplying them with their specific needs such as; clothing, educational help, meals, etc. Supplying impoverished youths the education required for success in the future, is part of their mission.
Many steps will need be taken in order to improve the United State’s poverty crisis, but a worthy place to start is with the building of a foundation of a sustainable education.
The American public school system faces an education crisis. According to Benjamin Barber, American children barely surpass the lowest standards set for education, especially in literacy, throughout the county’s history. Barber supports the existence of this crisis in his essay “America Skips School”, but argues against a solution to remedy the numerous problems facing the system. Although he acknowledges no solution, Barber suggests a smarter flow of financial resources will address many of the issues, however, he fails to acknowledge the distribution of this money. Barber’s suggestion for smarter financial resources for schools can be effectively implemented through a structured committee focused solely on the distribution of money.
For years, people have been trying to figure out ways to equalize the divergent academic achievement rates between rich and poor children. A study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2010 found that, since the late 90’s when they first started monitoring over 2,000 children, media
The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?
The federal government of 1980s attempted to reverse the trend of expansion and relaxed the monetary support of education. According to Christopher Cross (2010), the era of Reagan and George H. W. Bush was marked by “grants consolidation, more decision making at the state level, and extensive use of the federal bully pulpit” (p. 71). Reagan and congressional Republicans first passed the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act in 1981 to integrate and reduce the multitude of programs recently created. It returned authority to the states by granting more flexibility in how funds were to be distributed (Cross, 2010, p. 74). Even though the Reagan administration loosened the fiscal ties on education cutting federal funding by 30%, it relentlessly
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems with schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school system or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement.
In her article “Why Poor Schools Can’t Win at Standardized Testing,” Meredith Broussard examines the devastating effects of uneven distributions of school funds and how it is tied to test scores for underprivileged students. The cycle of poverty takes on a context of education because in order to get funding for their schools, students must perform well on standardized testing. However, the schools themselves cannot afford the expenses for their students to even access the resources needed to succeeded on such tests. The complexities surrounding unequal school funding can no longer be ignored due to its inevitable domino effect on the problems of the education system, one after the other; thus people should not stand by and tolerate such unfairness
Even in this time of struggle, with billions of dollars going towards various war efforts overseas, America still has managed to keep taxpayer investments in education higher than that of funds for national defense (U.S Department of Education). In the 2004-05 school year, there was an estimated amount of 536 billion dollars set aside from taxpayer investment for education purposes. Without a doubt, education is a priority for the American government, and if these funds are used in the correct way, there is no reason why each and every kid in the United States shouldn’t be getting a quality education. However, the organization of the financial system is flawed, funds are not handled proportionately at the state level; rather, this system favors the wealthier districts and hands more funds to them while the less wealthier districts are handed a smaller pool of funds. This really affects America’s quality of education, which also reflects upon how America fairs on the world stage when it comes to competition in education with other countries. The disorganization of funds in the United States can be seen in the Hoover City School district, which has bought every student in that district an iPad for use in school. The first problem with this is that this school district does not even have a viable bus system that can transport students to and from school. Secondly, not even 20 miles from this district lies the Birmingham City School district where a little more than half the students are graduating, compared to Hoover City Schools where a bit more than 90 percent of the students are graduating. If anything, the state should be working towards improving educational standards in lower-income communities rather than debating on the log...
Achievement gaps in schools across America impinge on racial-ethnic and socioeconomic status groups. For generations school systems focus on improving the achievement gaps for low-income and minority students. Statistics have provided evidenced that the school systems made enormous progress between 1970 and 1988, but came to a halt thereafter. Presently in the 20th century the gap has widened and the need for improvement is challenging for the school administr...
One of the most significant issues raised in public education in recent years is the radical difference that exists in funding levels between wealth and poor school districts. “Many states have allotted educational funding related to tax revenues, and this has determined a higher level of educational spending in wealthy neighborhoods and a much lower level of spending for inner-city poor and rural poor communities” (Frady 15). A number of states have considered and implemented plans for the equalization of school funding, but this has not come without considerable opposition. Though individuals in low-income neighborhoods areas have defined this equalization as a positive process for improving urban schools, wealthier suburban populations have complained that this will take away funding necessary to maintain programs that are already in place.
Proper school funding is one of the keys to having a successful school. Americans believe that funding is the biggest problem in public schools. School improvements revolve around funding. There needs to be funding not only in the successful schools but also the schools that aren’t doing as well. In documentary, Waiting for Superman, it talks about how smaller class sizes will help students. Funding is what will help the smaller class sizes. State funding mechanisms are subject to intense political and economic scrutiny (Leonard). Studies have shown that funding is inversely related to accreditation levels (Leonard). School funding needs to be increased, but there must be accountability as well.
There are numerous accounts for why schools receive unequal funding. Some schools may reside within wealthy areas where the property taxes are higher. According to the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation & Institute in "Fund the Child: Tackling Inequity & Antiquity in School Finance”, the amount of money a school gets depends on where it is located. Some schools may be within wealthier neighborhoods and receive more money as a result. For Example, the 2010 Public School Review report from the Modoc Joint Unified School District in California shows that the high school spends $7,858 per student whereas the 2010 Public School Review report for Tamalpais Union High School District in California shows that the school spends $19,821 per student (2010 Pubic School Review). This serves as a great disadvantage for students who do not live in wealthy neighborhoods because their schools are not receiving the proper funding...
A study conducted by Marguerite Roza, a University of Washington professor and a Gates Foundation Advisor, was reviewed by Jay P. Greene, a professor at University of Arkansas and a member of the George W. Bush Institute; it has shown that money in school systems is placed in places that differ from where educators say it will go. While teachers say that they want more funding for low-income individuals in the school system, most spending per student goes towards the students with higher incomes; similarly, other educators say that resources should be focused on core academic subjects such as history, reading, history, or math, but “per-pupil spending tends to be much higher for electives [and] extracurricular activities” (Greene). Also, teachers tend to be paid unequally; they are paid “according to their credentials, seniority, and ‘additional’ work assignments and not at all according to subject taught, number of students served, or the difficulty or importance of their assignments” (Greene). Since salary may be based on an educator’s past and not on their present, a more educated teacher may choose to serve a school or district that offers them more money. This means that the less-learned teachers with lower funding may generally end up teaching the low-income students, allowing for less pay for the subjects that these teachers teach. Schools like these, and the schools with the more experienced teachers, receive “slightly more funding from the district, with higher WSI (Weighted Student Index) by 0.01 and 0.04, respectively. In other words, these schools typically received 1 to 4 percent more than the district average, or $15,000 to $60,000 per school of 500 students in a district where the average school expenditure is $3,000 per pupil” (Guin et al). The inequality of expenditures in
The public school funding system in the United States fails to uphold fairness as unequal funding results in an unequal distribution of resources into American classrooms. Local funding mostly consists of the commercial and residential property taxes that the local government collects to fund for the local school district. Therefore, the property wealth of a district often determines the quality of the region’s schools; thus, students who are born into a disadvantage situation don’t have the same equal opportunity to learn as those who are born into affluent families. When I was in elementary school I was on the receiving end of this inequitable system. I was part of this inequitable system, but it was working for my benefit not to my detriment. I live in a relatively wealthy school district, so I was able to get a good education and get into Chadwick in sixth grade. The educational hegemonic norm was the situation I was in, and the system makes it unfair for the people without the same situation as me or a less fortunate
Bill Clinton once said “It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics, because discrimination, poverty and ignorance restrict growth, while investments in education, infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase it, creating more good jobs and new wealth for all of us.” An education provides endless opportunities for the nation such as; informing people of ways to control unnecessary spending of their money, paving the way to better career opportunities, and preparing people for the stressful conditions faced in the real world. While education is a huge factor in breaking the nation’s cycle of poverty, it is not the only key to ending the cycle of poverty. People must also have the desire to succeed, outstanding assets, and support from family and loved ones. Breaking the cycle of poverty in the nation requires enforced education and the efforts of those living in poverty.
I knew I had some pre-conceived ideas and did not understand the “hype” about the effects of poverty on teaching and learning in the United States, specifically between Washington, D.C. (considered a state for educational purposes) and Arkansas Public Schools. However, even though I grew up and graduated from Washington, DC Public Schools, through research I have found that there are many similarities when when it comes to the effects of poverty on teaching and learning whether you live in North or the South. First, the statistics are astounding. The January 2011 Children's Defense Fund's statistics reveal that the number of poor children in the District of Columbia is 29.4% and the number of children in extreme poverty is 18.8%. In comparison, the number of poor children in Arkansas is 27.2% and the number of children in extreme poverty is 12% . Yet, Washington ranks 3rd among states in per pupil expenditures while Arkansas ranks 37th. Since per pupil expenditures does not seem like a major factor, we must consider the concept of at-risk and the challenges that include diversity, achievement gap, student motivation to learn, lack of readiness to learn, relationships with and involvement of parents and families and brain based research, learning and poverty as outlined by Karen M. Pillino.