Equity Challenge Day 14 - Inequitable Education

Equity Challenge Day 14:

Inequitable Education

Something to Consider:

That only 42% of 3rd graders, who are economically disadvantaged are reading at proficiency and by 8th grade that percentage decreases. Meanwhile their counterparts are at 69% & 53% respectively. The disparity in math and ELA achievements between non-economically disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged is significant and creates an enormous barrier to long-term financial stability.

Education in School-Aged Children

Our economically and racially divided neighborhoods are leading to inequitable educational environments and adverse academic outcomes for our youth. Studies show that children from families with low incomes enter high school with literacy skills 5 years behind and are over 4 times more likely to drop out than those from high-income families. Students of color, who are more likely to attend under resourced schools than their white counterparts, suffer because of teachers working in under-resourced school environments and large classes sizes, which when controlling for socioeconomic status, almost entirely explain disparities in academic achievement according to Brookings.

Share your reflections on today’s topic on social media using the hashtag #unitedforequity and tag @acuw.

Source: 2017 Allegan County United Way Community Assessment, MI School Data

Today’s Challenge

Option 1: Read this MLive coverage on how Washtenaw County parents are advocating for better inclusion at a couple of elementary schools where only 20 percent of black students achieved academic proficiency in all subjects compared to 63 percent of white students.

Option 2: Explore the Michigan College Access Network Impact Map, which shows ‘College Readiness’ and the status for the state, region, counties and ISDs.

Option 3: Watch Boston teacher Kandice Sumner on the TED stage discuss the disparities she sees in her classroom every day because of segregation in our school systems.

Option 4: Listen to the This American Life two-part podcast special on how integration is needed to close the achievement gap.

Option 5: Journal on your own early childhood. Did you have teachers who looked like you? Did you have toys and books that looked like you? What messages were you taught about race? How did those messages compare to what you saw around you?

Option 6: Watch this funny 3 minute video of what it can feel like to be The Only Black Kid in Class.