Once interviews started for our Food for Thought series, I immediately reached out to Jackie. She is a long time friend, very passionate about education for her two sons, and is a perfect fit for Equal Opportunities for Students.
She has a very unique perspective on the education system, because she has lived in many different areas of the country; she has gotten to experience first hand how state-based curriculums and standards vary in different areas of the country. In most areas, schools end up very segregated, based on the way public schools are assigned to students. Often times, due to related circumstances, schools with large minority populations receive less funding, teachers, and materials than other nearby schools. While parents are typically willing to do everything they can for the education of their children, in many places, doing what is required just isn’t feasible. Parents can’t be expected to have their children travel hours to school each day, as no closer schools have access to the right quality of education. Parents also shouldn’t be expected to pay to get their children a quality education. This puts children who come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds even further behind their peers who come from affluent backgrounds. How would you make sure our schools are properly funded and integrated?