Education

Albert Einstein

Brooklyn Castle is a film that depicts the stories of five students on the national winning chess team from I.S. 318, a poverty-stricken junior high school in Brooklyn, New York. The audience sees a unique view of the struggles and victories the students face with chess competitions and in their lives.

The strategies of the film are to both inform and lead people to take action. This film stresses the importance of funding for activities and after school programs. Seventy to seventy-five percent of I.S. 318′s student body is living in poverty. These programs are important as they help the students stay involved and off the street. Many of the students featured have parents who immigrated to the United States so that their children can have better lives. The parents are so proud of all that their children have accomplished, especially chess. Brooklyn Castle also shows that action can lead to positive results as the students of I.S. 318 influenced their local government to provide them with more funding. 

Despite a lack of substantial finances, the school has won more national chess championships than any other school in the country. When the recession hits and funding is cut to the chess program, the students and teachers worry about their winning status. They pull together and manage to win yet another national championship after a successful writing campaign reinstated $100,000.

The film ends with the students’ plans for high school and the future. The state of the chess team is uncertain as funding continues to be cut. 

Article via Take Part

video via White House

The video shows President Obama speaking to a group about reading and Dr. Seuss on National Reading Day, the annual celebration of Dr. Seuss. This video shows that the President can be funny but still express the important of reading. Values along with instruction from parents and models shape who students become.

The proficiency benchmarks regarding reading are based on ability in elementary school. Statistics have indicated that students in low-income communities, African American and Latino boys, are facing difficulties when it comes to reading.

The White House is focusing on the importance of reading and is promoting it as a way to end the dropout rate and stop the school-to prison pipeline. Gary Chapman, executive vice president for Communities in Schools said this about illiteracy,” It’s one of the early warning indicators. We find in so many ways it’s their lack of on-level reading abilities that’s driving their lack of interest in school.” The U.S. public school system is made of majority-minority (African American and Latino) and low-income students.

Mastering reading by third grade is pivotal for learners according to education policy analysts. Students who do not reach that benchmark are four times more likely to drop out. The dropout rates are twice as high for African Americans and Latino students compared to white students. This is indicative of high poverty levels for those students.

What might it cost to keep expelled students out of prison pipeline? $1.8 million a year | The Seattle Times

Illustration from the Youth Justice Coalition

This illustration depicts the struggle the article below describes. Because of lack of funding for low-income or at risk students, they fall into the cracks of the education system. They do not get the resources they need, fall behind in school, receive low grades and test scores, and eventually cannot go to college to break the vicious cycle. If it is bad enough, these students turn to a life of crime and end up in the prison system. 

In Washington State there is no requirement to provide education to any expelled students outside of the classroom. A new law may be put in place to change that. In early March 2016, the senate passed a bill that limits time out of school for disciplined students and requires the districts to provide opportunities for continued education through tutoring, online education, or an alternative school.

Statewide, there are more than 600 students who are removed from school for infractions that do not involve drugs or violence. Principal of Garfield High School in Seattle, Ted Howard, says that no education for at risk students can create drop-outs and possibly fill prisons. “Our job is to educate kids, but this is creating a population who fall right into that prison pipeline.”

K-12 Facilities Spending Falls Short of Need, Groups Say | Education Week

photo by Doyle Maurer / Education Week

This photo shows a deteriorating basketball court at one school in West Virginia. The tones of the photo are dark and uninviting. 

A significant amount of students in the United States spend their 6 hours in school buildings that are old and dilapidated. The support for repairs falls $46 billion short annually according this report.

Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of U.S. Green Business Council and other business that push for modernizing school buildings said,” U.S. public school infrastructure is funded through a system that is inequitably affecting our nation’s students, and this has to change.”

The authors of the report gathered state and federal data on public facilities funding and noted that 18 states might have been underreported. They also say that to keep school building in good conditions, districts should collectively spend $145 billion each year. From 1994 to 2013, only three states met the minimum capital construction investment. Infrastructure spending varies with how much districts receive in federal aid. Taxpayers are relied upon to pay for upgrades. However, while depending on local taxpayers seems appropriate, it has since created a system of districts who have more and those who have less. Fort Wayne, Indiana school superintendent, Wendy Robinson said,”Wealthier areas with higher property values and residents who have more ability to afford additional taxes will be better able to support capital needs, including technology updates. Areas with more poverty, meanwhile, will collect less in property taxes, resulting in fewer building and technology improvements.” It should not be a surprise that schools in wealthier areas have the opportunity and do make more investments. 

21 Century School Fund executive direction, Mary Filardo said,”We do need new public dollars; there aren't enough public dollars out there. The pie itself needs to be bigger.”

92 New York City High Schools to Give No-Fee SAT on Wednesday | The New York Times

photo by Yana Paskova / The New York Times

The above photo shows a teacher helping students prepare for the SAT. Not much can be said about this photo except that it does not look posed. 

Mayor de Blasio’s administration has enacted a plan to have more students take the SAT after only 56% of the class of 2015 managed to take the SAT at least once. Ninety-two high schools will allow students to take the SAT with no fee during school hours. However, with change there is always controversy. There have been questions as to whether, without preparation, low-income students will do well enough to get into colleges they set their sights on.

David O’Hara, principal of Leaders High School in Gravesend, Brooklyn said,” The predictors are, if you come from a high-income family or a family that graduated from college, the data is there-their kids are going to do much better on the SATs.” O’Hara went on to say that 90 percent of his students would be the first to attend college if admitted. The average score of his students that took the SAT was 1212 out of 2400. Leaders High School offers yearlong Saturday SAT preparation classes to 20 juniors through an organization called New York Cares. Unfortunately, there are not enough for all 70 students in the junior class.

New York City offers Preliminary SAT exams for free in schools for sophomores and juniors. Students that took the exam also received a personalized Khan Academy account with their scores.

There is correlation between family income and SAT scores along with race. In 2015, students whose families earned over $200,000 score more than 100 points higher in math and reading than students whose families made between $20,000 and $40,000. White students in New York City’s public schools scored 98 points higher than black students on the reading portion and 118 points higher on the math.

Phil Weinberg, deputy chancellor for teaching and learning, said,” We want all of our students to know that this part of the process of getting into a postsecondary option is something that we’re going to help them do and that it’s going to be a normal part of their lives.”

Can Texas Figure Out How to Teach English to Immigrant Children? | The Atlantic

photo by Alana Semuels / The Atlantic

This photo shows an educator teaching her class. Spanish words and the alphabet can be seen on the walls. The bright colors of the classroom make this photo look cheerful. It also conveys a sense of optimism for the students’ futures. 

El Paso, Texas sits right on the border of the United States and Mexico and is home to 80 percent Latino people. A scandal has recently revealed that a school in El Paso Independent School District could not successful teach students English as a second language. Bowie High School told some low-performing immigrant students to drop out of school so test scores could be improved. 

Apparently, administrators moved students from 9th to 11th grade in order to not sit for the 10th grade exams. This would ensure the school’s scores would not be brought down. For other students, they were not educated at all. The students and their transcripts “disappeared.” One student’s mother from Bowie said that her daughter repeated her freshman year but was not allowed to return as a sophomore. This decision negatively affected her life as she never received a diploma or G.E.D, has three children, jobless, and has to survive on welfare. Data from state education shows that 381 students were enrolled as freshman in the fall of 2007 but the following fall showed only 170 sophomore students. 

Unfortunately, Texas cut $5.4 billion during the recession and lawsuits have been filed stating the state’s method for allocating funds hurts lower-income districts-the schools with the most English language learners. Finding funding for lower-income schools to help non-English speakers has been difficult to say the least. Politics even plays a role. Marco Portales, a Texas A&M professor said,”It’s a conservative state, and they don’t want to be perceived as helping or teaching kids with other languages.”

Programs are scattered across the state. Districts cannot decide between using dual-language methods, English language courses, or separate Spanish and English students. This research may show that two-language instruction is best of English learners.

Ysleta Independent School District superintendent, Xavier De La Torre, said that teaching English to students is the only way they can be prepared for the 21st century workforce. The method for his students is to start with Spanish 90 percent of the time and gradually decrease it so that by 6th grade, students receive 10 percent of Spanish instruction. For struggling students software programs are given. Students take home computers and continue their English learning after school hours. 

Observing an Uncertain Future for School Districts in North Carolina | Education Week

The photo above shows a student at Parkview Expressive Arts Magnet School in High Point, North Carolina. She’s ecstatic after learning her end of the year scores. The expression on her face shows true happiness. Her teacher, Virginia Stanfield, looks as though she is trying to hold in her joy. 

This photo-essay by Justin Cook for Education Week displays two North Carolina school districts that benefited from President Obama’s education improvement program, Race to the Top. These schools are now facing a loss in federal funding.

The city of High Point, North Carolina has a poverty rate of thirty-two percent for children under 18. One teacher was determined to not let that fact affect her students. Virginia Stanfield raised her student’s test scores higher and faster than other teachers and won twenty-thousand dollars from the Teacher Incentive Fund. She has used that money for classroom supplies, food, and clothes for students. Federal grants have also given students access to tablets, which help with lessons. 

At East Iredell Elementary School in Statesville, North Carolina, the teachers collect academic performance data on each student and make personalized files. The intervention specialist helps lead the teachers into making plans, but with federal funding decreasing she will lose her job.

Together, these photos show the struggles the students and teachers face in these poverty stricken towns and also the triumphs of the obstacles they have overcome. In Susan Sontag’s “On Photography” she said that photographs can not influence opinion unless there is an appropriate context of feeling (17). The expressions of the subjects and the context of the photographs make it very easy for one to feel motivated in aiding their cause for more funding. These photographs can encourage lawmakers to make the correct decisions in financing education.

With 14.8% of the American population living in poverty, getting a proper education can be a problematic. Higher education is sometimes not even thought for some students. The following organizations are there to aid students who are interested in pursing they want and deserve.

1. Equal Opportunity Schools

The mission of EOS is to provide an opportunity for all students to succeed in challenging high school classes. Each year, two-thirds of a million students have the capability of engaging in more demanding classes, but are left behind because they are low-income. EOS works with school faculty and students to get the students where they need to be. The company was awarded $1.8 million in funding by Google, which tripled the amount of students helped.

2. The Education Trust

The Education Trust is an organization that advocates for academic achievement for “students at all levels, particularly for students of color and low-income students.” Their goal is to close the gaps in opportunity by evaluating state and national policies and by working with parents, educators, and leaders in communities. The website offers many resources for both parents and students.

3. QuestBridge

QuestBridge is a platform for the nation’s smart but under-served youth to have an opportunity in getting a higher education. QB connects students with colleges, scholarship providers, enrichment programs, and organizations who want students that have excelled despite their hardships. Their vision is to form “thoughtful and broad-minded decision makers drawn from every economic segment from society.” The company have an impressive partnership with 37 of the country’s best colleges including Vassar College and Stanford University. The website is full of information for students and educators.

4. iMentor

iMentor is a NYC based mentoring program that matches public high school students in the New York City area with college-educated mentors. This relationship enables students from low-income areas to graduate high school and succeed in college. iMentor has funded through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Robin Hood Foundation to name a few. This organization also has a partnership program that allows the model to reach communities nationwide. 

Obama Seeks Broadband for 20 Million More Subscribers | The New York Times

photo by Ilana Panich-Linsman / The New York Times

The picture shows Maria Ruiz helping her son and daughter with their homework. I think the angle of this picture really works for the content. The door is ajar, not only symbolizing the number of opportunities the mother is giving her child by helping her with school, but also how having access to the internet at home will finally give students the resources they need. The bars out of focus can represent the restrictions low-income families still face.

On March 9, 2016, President Obama backed a plan that would give low-income families more affordable broadband services. This plan has a goal of getting 20 million people subscribed by 2020. The White House said it also supports the F.C.C.’s plan to reform the phone program which will give these families $9.25 a month for wireless and fixed broadband services. 

“All of America’s students should be able to get online, no matter where they live or how much their parents make,” Mr. Obama wrote in a Facebook post.

Best College Values presents this infographic which shows that inflated cost of college along with common items if their prices had been inflated at the same rate as tuition. For a little perspective on 1984 prices to now, the average income in 1984 was $42,605. With inflation, that adds up to over $97,000 in today’s money. The average income in 2014 was around $53,600. So while $6,217 may not have been such a hardship with an average income of over $42,600, the inflation of tuition has made it very difficult for students today.

There are many factors contributing to the higher costs of education including more people attending, more programs, and also slashed funding. The following graphic shows the cuts Pennsylvania has made in regards to higher education. Funding is 36% below 2008 levels while tuition increased over $2,000 from 2008 to 2014. To find the conditions of other states, click here.

According to this Alternet article, the Economic Policy Institute found that between the years 1978 and 2011, CEO salaries increased by 725% while workers’ salaries increased less than 6%. 

How one Social Media Campaign Can Benefit Higher Education

Bankrate’s #FutureSelfie campaign started when Bankrate wanted to help students reach their career goals by donating two $1,000 scholarships and one $3,000 prize. Current and prospective students enter the contest by taking a picture and writing a caption that describes their career aspirations and life dreams.

The campaign proved to be successful as nearly 2,000 submissions were received. The #FutureSelfie hashtag also reached more than 10 million Twitter timelines and generated 1,500 contributors. Yahoo! Finance and the Examiner gave coverage to the impressive results. The #FutureSelfie scholarship is the most successful Bankrate social media campaign.

I think this campaign can also be evaluated based on how it inspires others. Someone who sees this could be motivated to pursue their true career passions and dreams if they see others take a risk. The fact that there is a scholarship contest could also spark discussion about how expensive it is to go to college. 

Deplorable Conditions in Detroit | CNN

photos according to twitter page

These pictures show the disgusting and shameful conditions of one particular school in Detroit. There is now an ongoing lawsuit against the Detroit school system filed by the teachers union. 

According to reports, teachers and parents have been voicing their concerns for years, but nothing was done. Teachers started sending in their pictures and words to a Twitter account Detroitteach. These pictures capture mold, watermarks, and broken fixtures. 

With this Twitter account, awareness has spread of the dire improvements that need to be made. Presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, spoke out on her own twitter page in January in support of the schools by saying “No one would tolerate these conditions in a wealthy suburb. Detroit students and teachers deserve better.”

“We talk about our schools like they’re broken institutions that need to be fixed or discarded and thrown away or shut down, and, really, instead, we need to look at them as as places of hope and potential; which is exactly what they are.” -Helen Gym, Councilwoman, parent and education advocate

This video is a part of a series produced by Media Mobilizing Project that publicizes Philadelphia teachers, parents, students, and their communities who work together to improve their schools. This specific video highlights the cuts and setbacks West Philadelphia schools have faced due to finances.

As Gym says, some schools are weathered, but that does not mean they are broken. A broken school would mean that nobody cared about its condition. These people clearly have a lot of determination to reform their schools for the community. Improvements need to be made so all students have access to the resources they need. Only then can school truly become a place for students to reach their full potential.

The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) was established in 1989 to provide children and youth living in temporary living situations services through public schools. The national organization is comprised of educators, school counselors, social workers, and many other providers to partner with families so children can learn and succeed in life. 

Their website offers many resources for all levels of learning, housing, and nutrition. For those who qualify, an application is available to receive financial awards. There is also a donate tab for people who want to contribute. 

A Daunting Trip to School for Some Homeless Children | The New York Times

photo by Sam Hodgson / The New York Times

A man in a wheelchair named Prisciliano, stands with his two daughters. One daughter tries to hide behind her father, while the other stands tall and proud. Her stance is an indicator of the maturity she has reached as a result of the hardships she and her family have faced.

Federal data for the 2013-2014 school year shows that there were 1.36 million homeless children in public schools. The number of homeless students in the 2007-2008 school year was 795,054, meaning the number has since nearly doubled. 

Staten Island, New York is one heavily affected area. The picture below shows a bus waiting for students early in the morning. These students and their families have been relocated due to being homeless. After homeless shelters ran out of room, the families were relocated to budget priced hotels. Students have to leave their homes before dawn-sometimes as early at 5:30 a.m.- as it can take up to two hours to get to their schools.

Sam Hodgson | New York Times

Officials say at least 750 families, including 245 school aged children, are living in these hotels on Staten Island or in Queens and Brooklyn as a part of the New York City Department of Homeless Services. Although they have lodging, there are still issues at hand. Children often miss school because of the distance between the accommodations and their schools.

Prisciliano, featured in the photo, is a Mexican immigrant who lives with his wife Alba and their two daughters, Yoselin, 9, and Jacqueline, 7. The family had to leave their Harlem apartment after they found themselves unemployed. Prisciliano suffered a bad fall and Alba had to quit her job to take care of him. Yoselin thinks she is behind because of the days she had missed.

The Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness published a report stating that for the 2013-14 school year, 38% of homeless students had missed 20 or more days of school. The study also showed that 1 in 5 students that are homeless during high school drop out.

When students face financial hardships, these colleges step up | The Washington Post

photo by Sean Simmers / The Washington Post

College sophomore Kayla Oakes received en emergency grant to help her stay in school. There’s not much going in the photo. It looks as though Oakes is posing for the camera. I like that the photo was captured in bright light. It can signify the hope that these grants have afforded her. 

Kayla Oakes was a month away from starting her sophomore in college when her mother died. Life immediately become difficult for Oakes who not only had to cope with losing her mother, but had to figure out how to pay bills and take care of her siblings.

Oakes’ college, Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa, reached out to her school advisor who encouraged Oakes to apply for an emergency grant program. She was able to buy books and cover a partial amount of her tuition with $1,300. 

It should not be a surprise that college graduates are paid higher wages and have lower unemployment rates than people who only have a high school diploma. Studies show that almost two third of students who do quit school do so because of finances. As a result, more colleges are experimenting with emergency funds for students. 

Moravian College established “Mo’s Fund” which assists students who are enrolled full time comply with submitting death certificates or foreclosure notices to support claims. The fund is supported by donations and awards up to $1,500 per student per year. Moravian College have granted 15 awards for the 2015-16 school year so far.

Another assistance program proposed to expand is the Pell grant program for college students who are also in financial need. In January, President Obama expanded plan allows for qualified students to receive grants three semesters a year rather than two. The proposal is estimated to help 700,00 students by providing them an average of $1,915. For those who take 15 or more credits per semester, $300 will be added. This aspect would benefit 2.3 million students.

Roadblocks include getting through a Republican-controlled Congress. The government spends $30 billion a year on grants already. They have been vital to federal education policy and tremendously help students as they do not have to pay them back.