Huffington Post / May 20, 2014
How is it that, 60 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended the legal basis for separate but equal schooling, some public schools in the United States have gleaming labs, libraries and laptops while others lack textbooks, toilet paper and teachers certified in their subjects? What will it take to provide all children the opportunity to have a great public education?
Much of the progress in desegregating schools has been reversed in recent decades. Modern-day segregation defies laws meant to end it, because it is based in socio-economic inequality that, more often than not, translates into racial inequality. The wealth gap between African-American and white households nearly tripled from 1984 to 2009. More than two-thirds of African-American and Latino students attend public schools where a majority of the students live in poverty…
Cincinnati’s successful community schools approach demonstrates that while poverty matters in education, its effects can be mitigated. Ten years ago, one of every two students in this high-poverty district did not complete high school. Today, the graduation rate has surged to 80 percent. Achievement gaps between African-American and white students are narrowing. Student mobility, which can be so disruptive to a child’s education, is down. And discipline referrals have dropped sharply — keeping students in school, keeping them learning.