Poor black and Latino children end up in the most underfunded schools, with no end in sight
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America’s schools are not in a good place. This is worth being very clear about—just in case the Trump administration presents some of their “alternative facts” and tries to convince the American people otherwise. According to a report released on ThuPoor black and Latino children end up in the most underfunded schools, with no end in sight
America’s schools are not in a good place. This is worth being very clear about—just in case the Trump administration presents some of their “alternative facts” and tries to convince the American people otherwise. According to a report released on Thursday by the US Commission on Civil Rights, low-income black and Latino students end up in the worst schools—with the least amount of resources and the most damaged infrastructure. Too often, low-income, black and Latino students end up in schools with crumbling walls, old textbooks and unqualified teachers, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The commission said inequities are caused by the fact that schools are most funded with state and local tax dollars. More than 92 percent of funding comes from nonfederal sources, according to the Education Department. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly news. Poor children who live in poor neighborhoods generally go to poor schools. And then they end up significantly behind compared to their peers in more affluent communities. Poverty and poor education significantly impacts behavior and academic performance, future employment opportunities, health outcomes and much more. This fact pretty much debunks the myth that hard work and education in themselves are enough to overcome anything in this country—especially poverty. As tempting as it is to buy into the myth that class and race are not determining factors for success and advancement, they absolutely are. But in case you need more proof, numbers don’t lie. Less money is spent on children who live in high-poverty school districts and the curriculum and courses they are offered differs from their peers who come from more privileged economic backgrounds. For instance, the authors [of the study] said, 33 percent of high schools with high black and Latino enrollment offer calculus, compared with 56 percent of high schools with low black and Latino student populations. Nationwide, 48 percent of schools offer the rigorous math course. On average, school districts spend around $11,000 per student each year, but the highest-poverty districts receive an average of $1,200 less per child than the least-poor districts, while districts serving the largest numbers of minority students get about $2,000 less than those serving the fewest students of color, according the study. Read more