The Education Gap and Inequality in Los Angeles

It is known and obvious that there is an education gap and inequality between schools in lower income cities versus schools in higher income cities. Students who do not have the resources or money to attend a college will likely drop out of high school instead of achieving their goals but students who do have all the resources and will go onto college. This is inequality within education and it is unfair because all students deserve to have all the resources they need and funding to be able to go to any college and succeed in their life. This is an issue that happens in the Los Angeles area and even happens globally. Not everyone is receiving what they need in order to be successful, this can become a bigger issue than it already is because then the poverty rate will go higher and the next generation will be dealing with the same problem. Cities with higher poverty rates, such as cities in the Los Angeles area, are more affected because the government is not doing enough with helping schools out, just funding non-profit organizations and these organizations should be doing more to make sure every student is receiving what they need in order to be successful. Schools in and around Los Angeles need better organizations to help students stay in school and be motivated so there will not be a dropout rate and everyone will be able to succeed.

Education inequality is a very huge and important issue to focus on. It is essential to have the next generation succeed because this means the poverty rate will become lower, more jobs would be occupied and open, and the economy will rise. Many students in low-income cities within the Los Angeles area do not receive the same funding or resources a student does in a high-income city like, for example, San Marino. This causes the student (in Los Angeles) to not be motivated to go to school or not apply to colleges. We need students to go to school in order to help themselves, their future families, and economy.

In 2016, about twenty-seven percent of LAUSD high school graduates enrolled into a four-year college, according to a data analysis done by the National Student Clearinghouse, where it was mentioned in Sarah Favot’s article. There are plenty of non-profit organizations in LAUSD, however, they can be doing more to have a high percentage rate of students who do attend college after high school. In the Los Angeles Unified School District about seventy-seven percent of high school students graduate, but compared to Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, 98.6 percent graduate high school. The schools in Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District have way more funding and programs that help every student. That is a very huge gap which is why we need more help from programs.

Los Angeles deals with a huge crisis of homeless families. About 17,000 students within the Los Angeles Unified School District are homeless which results in students who are eight times more likely to repeat a grade and twice as likely to have a low score on standardized tests, which is stated by Sahra Sulaiman in her article. These cities include East San Fernando Valley, South Bay, Downtown, and East L.A. However, these cities are actually helping these students and their families. LAUSD allows overnight parking for families that live in their vehicle which is part of the Safe Parking L.A Program, provides shelter, meals, and support and converting building to provide temporary or permanent shelter for homeless students and their families. LAUSD also started to provide counseling, backpacks, school supplies, and transportation but the increase with students becoming homeless became too much to handle and limited the resources that were given.

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Another effort is that schools have provided free or reduced to help students not experience hunger while trying to concentrate in class. Some other schools have distributed small rewards to acknowledge the students with 96% attendance, these rewards were gift cards to local chains. This gives the students some sort of motivation to attend school and not drop out.

Two non-profit organizations that help schools in LAUSD are LA’s Promise and Los Angeles Fund for Public Schools, where their goal is to improve students’ academic achievements with the help of the programs within these organizations. Students in higher income cities perform better because of the economic resources they have and the funding that goes towards them, says Ann Owens. Low-income schools need more funding than any other schools.

Organizations are trying their best to help students improve in every aspect of the student’s life. However, some are not doing enough. The organizations that are providing food, shelter, and supplies are all starting somewhere but other organizations are just in schools not making the students motivated about their education or life. The organizations that provide resources for students are showing them that they care about their future and the students should too. Some organizations do not have enough money to provide the students with resources which is where they can set up any funding events to help raise enough money to help out. This will accomplish having food, supplies, and, maybe, shelter for those in need. The free or reduced lunch also helps students a lot because they might not be able to have any food at home and no student should be hungry at school.

There are many other ways to help students in low-income cities. The schools can develop relationships with adult human services agencies so when a student is leaving high school, they can receive support and help in the new transition to their new chapter of life. Employment programs, training programs and transportation systems should also be included and part of this process. This will help the student not feel so lost after high school since many do not know what route to take or what the next step is. With these new programs, more students will have access to everything they need. Schools in high income cities, who have all the resources, can branch out and help the schools in need. There is probably enough money within the wealthier schools to help out the schools in need. Students will also realize why it is important to keep on going to school and to succeed in life. If these become policies and these organizations keep doing what they do, then there will be a lower dropout rate, there will be more students applying to college, and there will be less people living on the street. A lot of people do not understand or even know that the amount of people on the streets is caused by the amount of people who did not go to school, who did not have any help or resources in their life so they took the wrong path. A student’s life and foundation start at home and school, so it is very important to make sure they are focused and motivated to stay in school. There can also be people who give motivational speeches at school, saying why it is important to have an education and what can happen if a student takes the wrong path. This can also accomplish the amount of jobs open, where professionals are needed, and given to when students pursue their career. The economy will rise. It is tremendously important to have motivation at home and in school so that students will not be on the wrong path.

The education gap and inequality is a huge crisis that needs to be fixed immediately. It is not just happening in the city of Los Angeles, but is happening all over the world. There should not even be an educational gap in the first place if all schools received an equal amount of help, resources and programs. Every student, no matter if they live in a low-income city or wealthier city, should have the opportunity to succeed in life with the help of organizations and programs. More students need to go to school and go to college in order to live a happy life and help their own families. Schools in low-income cities just need extra funding and more programs to help the kids stay in school. More students need to be successful so there will also be a low poverty rate. College should be available for everyone to go to, even if they do not have the money for it. The education gap is important to get rid of. These students are our next generation and it is important they stay on the right track.

Bibliography

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5. Owens , A. (2018). Income Segregation Between School Districts and Inequality in Students' Achievement. Retrieved October 25, 2019, from https://scholar.harvard.edu/aowens/publications/income-segregation-between-school-districts-and-inequality-students-achievement​.
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