The Disparities of Urban Education that Suburbia will Never See

There has been a long history of urban public schools failing their students time and time again. As an educator, I would be misleading any person who read my blog if I just blamed the urban schools who provide the education for urban children. It is a lot more complex and deeper than just that. Instead, we have to consider politics, systems, government, funding, and the list goes on and on as to why Black and Brown children have been let down for a very long time. When you read this blog, I want you to think of America, and how we have heard time and time again that the American belief that our founding fathers harped on is "liberty and justice for all", but is there really any liberty and justice when it comes to this broken education system for urban children? I would definitely argue no. This is why the Charter School Movement has become so prevalent over the years, because it is supposed to be an alternative to the horrible public schools that are planted in poor neighborhoods. As an educator, I cannot help but to think: Is charter schools really efficient, or are states just putting a bandage over a wound that has rotted ages ago? The short answer is simply that there will never be a quick fix to fixing urban education, and the disparities that Black and Brown children face in the education system, but I would like to expose you the reader to some ideas and information to allow you to ponder on this topic yourself.

                        Funding Gap

When it comes to school districts, there is an allotted amount of money that is given to each student in the school. More times than none, the urban schools are the ones that get less money from the state, and those urban schools have to try to offset the lack of funds from the state with federal funds. You can see how this can get ugly right? The biggest issue with this is that this was not what federal funding was ever designed for. It was designed to supplement the state funding, but instead it has now superseded or replaced the state funding altogether. This is not happening everywhere. Suburban schools are receiving a lot more funding from the state since they have control as to how much funding they give each school. This allows suburban students to have better supplies, better curriculums, and an overall better education, even though they are already more privileged than their urban counterparts just based off of their zip codes. According to the article, The Disparities between Urban and Suburban American Education Systems: A Comparative Analysis Using Social Closure Theory by Whitney Wright it states, " “The differences between the amount of funding between suburban and urban school districts are there. The discrepancies that exist in Virginia aren’t as vast as surrounding states, but there are disproportionate amounts of funding that exist in every state. As a principal in one of the highest poverty areas in Virginia, funding differences are immensely greater in the area of urban schools. Students are taught in schools that do not have the funding capable of producing comparable learning environments, to their counterparts. Teachers can provide excellent learning environments and a rigorous curriculum, but they cannot produce the same supplies as comparable schools. It’s unfortunate but funding creates disadvantages learning environment created by educational policy laws. Laws and standardized test limit educational opportunities. Students deserve equality in education and should not be deemed unworthy based off of the zip codes they may live in. When children are given the opportunity to excel, they will" (Pg 1616). The funding gap between suburban and urban schools is just one of the many issues when it comes to the disparities of urban education. I want to explore one more issue to allow you to ponder on this topic. 

                     Achievement Gap 

As I write about this injustice as an educator, I get shivers down my spine. The achievement gap is becoming larger and larger when it comes to lower income students and higher income students. This is a sad reality, because children ultimately do not get to pick where they will fall in society. They are either born poor, well off, or somewhere in-between based off of their parents economic status. This issue has long been a disparity, simply because children are then given a great education or a horrible one based off of circumstances they have no control over. Educators have been trying to be the change, but the fact of the matter is that change has to first start with the laws and policies that have been put into place for education. This brings me to the No Child Left Behind Act. When it first came out,  urban educators were excited, and thought this might be the change that schools needed to get things moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, this act just made things worse. It did hold schools accountable, but what educators didn't realize is that it would now be even harder for schools who were already failing before this act came out to get funding, because they had to play catch up from years of being stagnant. What urban schools saw is that suburban schools who were passing these standardized test were getting even more funding, while urban schools who were failing these test were getting just enough funding to keep the doors open, but still having to use outdated curriculums, materials, and technology. According to The Disparities between Urban and Suburban American Education Systems: A Comparative Analysis Using Social Closure Theory by Whitney Wright it states, " Students have variety of learning styles that allow them to learn concepts differently, whether it is with difficulty or ease. With standardized testing implemented through school systems, it forces the teachers to teach memorization, rather than application methods in the classrooms. Teachers are forced to pass their students on to the next grade, in fear of facing harsh consequences. It’s not fair to our children, to use them in order to receive adequate funding or resources. Schools should have equal access to the same resources, regardless of zip codes" (Pg 1617). The gap is continuing to grow, and urban educators are beginning to feel the squeeze more and more when it comes to trying to equip their students for the world, while also trying to ensure they pass the standardized test so that the school can continue to get funding to give them the education they ultimately deserve. It is a hard balance that sometimes leaves educators to want to throw in the towel and say education has become corrupted instead of good. 

I want to end this blog with the statement I made in my introduction from the founding fathers when they stated that the American belief is "liberty and justice for all". Do you think that the systems put in place for urban education has supported this statement in any way?