Poverty Underlies Education System’s Shortcomings
Here’s a letter to the editor in The Hill by Diann Woodard, president of the School Administrators (AFSA), the only national education union representing principals, assistant principals and school administrators.
The failure of our education system lies not within the walls of the public schools that serve children in crisis, but with the policymakers and policies in place that ignore the fundamental causes of low student achievement: unfair funding formulas, poverty and unproven education policies (“For America’s children, education outlook grows only dimmer,” Jan. 23, by Juan Williams).
Families are increasingly falling into poverty, experiencing a lack of housing and unable to provide adequate health care and nutrition for their children. These children need increased services, yet often do not receive them because of budget cuts, bureaucratic hurdles and gross inequities in state and local funding formulas.
Public schools welcome these children, for our doors are open to all. We do not hand-select the brightest, the ones with involved parents, or the students who will make us look good on half-hour media specials. Their time at school might provide their only stable environment, and we provide it with only a fraction of resources afforded to more affluent districts and private schools.
Weingarten Calls for ‘Common Ground’ Solutions to Brunt Impact of Financial Crisis on Schools
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Jobs, home foreclosures, failing banks and falling stocks are often the focus of today’s economic discussions. But as AFT President Randi Weingarten reminds us, an often overlooked impact of the nation’s financial crisis is its effect on education.
Faced with declining tax revenues, state and local governments are cutting back on their most essential investment—educating the next generation. This disinvestment in education may help states and local government’s bottom lines this year. But it places our economy in a race to the bottom for years to come.
Speaking before an audience of lawmakers, education policy experts and union leaders at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., yesterday (see video), Weingarten outlined proposals to improve public education that would also make a long-term investment in the nation’s lagging economy. She signaled a willingness to find solutions on several long-standing controversial issues.
