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A picture I took of the supplies at Stege Elementary on September 4, 2019.

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Stege School Supplies Drive flyer I designed.

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Blog Post #8 Civic Action Assessment of Issue

1. As a citizen in this community, I believe I have the responsibility to meet the needs of others. I believe that every citizen has this duty, and we all have the power to serve others beyond ourselves. I think every action I take can have an impact greater than myself. Many people do not take action on issues they observe in their community because they think they cannot create change as an individual. I believe the opposite of this mindset, and think that if everyone followed that ideology, no action would ever be taken. My role in both this community and country is to work to meet the needs of others, no matter how small my steps may be.

2. Through this class, I have learned that no matter how young you are, anyone can take action. I have also learned that action can take many forms. Taking action can include volunteering, protesting, going to city hall meetings, etc.. This class has taught me that taking action not only creates a positive impact on others in my community, it has also given me a more in-depth knowledge on educational disparities, through hands-on work.

3. Yes, I do feel it is my civic obligation to help address my issue of substandard education in low-income areas. As someone who is very passionate about this subject, I do not want to wait for some government employee to take action on educational inequalities, rather, I feel it is my responsibility, just as anybody else, to take action and work towards equal access to schooling.

4. Yes, through Leadership, I held a school supplies drive for Stege Elementary. Stege Elementary is an under-resourced elementary school in Richmond, CA, and is also the sister school of Acalanes. On Dons Day, I collected money to buy supplies. With my leadership board, I also put out boxes in classrooms for the first two weeks of school, and gathered enough new supplies for all 360 students at Stege. We divided up the supplies, and put them into 360 goodie bags for the children. On September 4, 2019, I delivered the supplies to the principal of Stege Elementary (see attached photos for the picture I took of all of the supplies at Stege, and the flyer that I made, also Mrs. Walton is my witness). 

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Blog Post #7 Executive Action Assessment of Issue

1. President Trump believes that the American education system (specifically elementary and secondary schools) is falling behind other nations. President Trump thinks that parents should be able to choose these schools for their children. He also wishes to modernize the federal aid system. Trump wants to hold higher institutions financially accountable to taxpayers and students.

2. I agree with President Trump’s ideas on education in America, however, I believe it is missing a large component: Trump does not mention inequalities in our education system. He continuously states that our schools as a whole are falling behind, but ignores the disparities that exist in our own country.

1. The U.S. Department of Education manages my civic issue.

2. The U.S. Department of Education’s mission statement is: “The Department of Education fosters educational excellence, and to ensures equal access to educational opportunity for all.” This statement directly relates to my civic issue, as I am investigating inequalities in our education system.

3. The Secretary of the Department of Education is Betsy DeVos. DeVos has worked in education policy reform for over three decades. She has an extensive background in education work, including working as “an in-school mentor for at-risk children in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Public Schools” for 15 years, and is very professionally qualified to lead this department. Having a secretary with a professional background in education, and a passion for equality in this area very positively impacts the department and my issue, as she is qualified to do the job. 

4. The department has many loan and grant services, such as the Pell Grant. The loan services provide money for students to go to college, however, the students do have to pay this money back later, with interest. These services would respond to my issue, as they give low-income students the opportunity to receive a higher education, even if they cannot pay for it.

5. The Trump Administration has identified that the education system in America has issues, and does not necessarily want to cut funding to the Department of Education. I am satisfied that the President has scholarships, such as the Pell Grant, which allow low-income students to receive higher education. I am also satisfied with legislation, such as the Higher Education Act, which works toward providing equal opportunities for schooling. I do however believe that more work needs to be done to reform our education system and create a viable solution that allows all students to receive quality schooling despite their background.

Article: White Parents, Privilege and School Tours - The New York Times - By Azi Paybarah - November 18, 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/nyregion/school-admissions-new-york-city.html

Subject: The subject of this article is about an elite high school in New York, in which primarily white parents are lined up for blocks to tour. The parents also had to pay $200 to wait in line, and for more amenities to help their child receive admission. The author exposes that only rich families, who are primarily white in that area, can afford for their children to go to these schools, which leaves low-income students in the under-resourced public schools.

Author: Azi Paybarah is from Queens, New York. He currently writes for the New York Today column. Before working at New York Times, Paybarah wrote for The Queens Tribune, The New York Sun, and Politico New York.

Context: This article was written at a time that both access to education and the privileges that come with money in America are widespread topics of conversation. This column was also written during the school year, a time when many parents and students are focused on this topic.

Audience: The audience for this article is the American public. The author is revealing that high-income students have access to a better education than their low-income counterparts, and desires for the public to be aware of this inequality. This article is also aimed at politicians who have a voice in influencing education reform.

Perspective: The author takes on a slightly liberal tone while discussing privileges of the wealthy in accordance with education, who he pointed out was a primarily white population.

Significance: The significance of this article is that students from poorer backgrounds are not able to pay for elite high schools, and are therefore are left to go to public schools in under-resourced areas. This economic disparity creates a large gap in the access that students have to schooling.

Do you agree with it? Why or why not? I agree with this article because in areas where the public school system is failing, wealthy families are able to turn to elite private schools, however, students of lower-income are not able to afford that, therefore creating a divide in educational opportunities.

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Blog Post #6 State and Legislative Action

1. Assembly Member Kahan & State Senator Glazer

a. Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan strongly believes in making education accessible to all. She mostly focuses on the economics of education, and wants schooling to be inexpensive for low-income groups. California State Senator Steve Glazer has similar ideas on education, but focuses more on increasing graduation and retention rates.

b. I agree with both Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and State Senator Steve Glazer, in that education should be accessible for all. I do not fully agree with Kahan’s ideas on making higher education as inexpensive as possible, because that large amount of money would then come from taxpayers.

c. Kahan has sponsored the bills AB 807 (Removal of CalWORKs Penalties For Higher Education), and AB 1344 (Out-of-State / For-Profit Online College Requirements). Glazer has sponsored the bills SB 14 (Higher Ed Facilities Bond Act of 2020), SB 148 (California Promise Incentives), and SB 374 (CalWORKs Benefits for Students). These bills all work to make education accessible for all students, despite their background. They also aim to increase benefits for students, and thereby influence graduation rates.

2. California Bill

a. The California bill number is AB-428 Special education funding.

b. The bill was introduced on February 7, 2019.

c. The last major action of the bill was on August 30, 2019, when the bill was held under submission in committee.

d. I agree with this bill and would encourage my representatives to support it. This goal of this bill is to provide more funding for Special Education schooling. The bill expands access to education for students that generally do not have the opportunity to receive quality teaching, majorly due to cost. I work a lot with the Special Education students at Acalanes, through Leadership, my Friendly Faces Club, and the Special Olympics, and do feel that these students should have the opportunity to learn, just as I do.

3. Congressman Desaulnier, Senator Harris, and Senator Feinstein

a. Congressman Desaulnier is very passionate about providing a quality education to all. He wishes to decrease the price of education, and increase the access that people of all groups have. Similarly, Senator Harris promotes the expansion of educautional opportunities, to suit students from every background. Senator Feinstein wishes to improve the quality of K-12 schooling, as well as decrease the price of higher education for low-income students.

b. Congressman Desaulnier sponsors the H.R.4643 Improving Access to Higher Education Act of 2019. I support this bill, as it aims to increase the accessibility to, and graduation from, postsecondary schooling for all students, including those with disabilities. Senator Harris sponsors the S.2784 bill. I support this bill because it provides grants to educational agencies to better serve working families that have a child in school, and for summer learning when school is no longer in session. Senator Feinstein sponsored the College Cost Reduction Act. I do not support this bill because although it aids low-income students in receiving a higher education, it drastically harms middle class taxpayers.

4. Issue

a. Yes, there are numerous bills on the topic of education. The amount of bills on Countable for education are countless, and therefore an exact number is hard to say.

b. The bill number is H.R. 4220.

c. This bill desires to use federal education funds to combat chronic absenteeism in schools that serve grades K-12.

d. This bill would have a positive impact on K-12 students in low income areas, as those children are most suceptible to chronic absenteeism. This bill would encourage at-risk students to pursue an education, and hopefully lead to a better future than from the background that they came.

e. I would vote yes on this bill because I am passionate about improving access to education, especially for those that come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds. I also believe that by combatting chronic absenteeism, the students that arguably need to be in school the most, would have that opportunity.

f. As for this bill’s progression, it originated in the House of Representatives, and was introduced on August 29th, 2019. The Committee on Education and Labor has reviewed this bill, but no other committees have (and neither the House nor Senate have voted on it).

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BLOG POST #5 POLITICAL INTEREST GROUPS AND PAC ASSESSMENT

1. National Interest Group

a. The Center for Education Reform

b. The Center for Education Reform works to be a voice for improving equal access to educational opportunities.

c1. The Center for Education Reform “fights to give learners at all levels the opportunity to shape their education”

c2. This interest group uses petitions and citywide calls to action to influence senators in making decisions that would create a more equal education system.

c3. This group is discontent with America’s stagnated education system’s infrastructure. They believe the gap in schooling opportunities is widening because dramatic changes in this system have not occurred for decades.

c4. The Center for Education Reform writes numerous evidence-based articles that detail their belief that the location where a child is born currently dictates the student’s educational opportunities (but should not).

c5. This interest group believes that there needs to be standards implemented to insure teacher quality. The Center for Education Reform states that teachers are as important as parents in shaping a student’s character. Therefore, teachers should be “measured predominantly by student achievement” and “there must be consequences for teachers who are not successful in educating students, no matter how noble or caring they may be.”

d. A current piece of legislation that the Center for Education Reform is fighting to pass is Senator Landrieu’s policy to make abandoned school buildings available to turn into charter schools, to unlock opportunities for more students.

e. The Center for Education Reform is located in Washington DC. They do not have any upcoming local meetings for me to attend but do have other events every year such as Charter School Night at Nationals Park in the summer. 

f. There are not volunteer opportunities available at the Center for Education Reform, however, the interest group has many ways for people to take action on their website. These include contacting leaders and engaging with friends.

g. Additional interesting developments that the Center for Education Reform is working towards are nation wide standardized tests after each grade, and new options for online public school. They also believe that if students consitently fail national standardized tests, then the school should be closed.

2. State Interest Group

a. California Teachers Association

b. The California Teachers Association is comprised of “teachers, counselors, school librarians, social workers, psychologists, and nurses,” and is the largest voice for educator rights in the state.

c1. The CTA deeply advocates for smaller class sizes, as they have the ability to greatly improve student learning. Small class sizes allow better communication between teachers and students, which especially offers English learners an environment to be more successful in.

c2. The CTA advocates for additional resources to be granted to schools that are located in underprivileged areas. They believe that all students should receive a quality education, despite their zip code.

c3. This interest group fights for free meal programs for all students that need them. The CTA also advocates for more counselors, nurses, and social workers to be in schools, as California ranks last for the availability of these support professional per student.

c4. The CTA believes that in order to retain high quality teachers, they must be paid salaries comparable to others with the same experience and education. 

c5. This interest groups works to implement Common Core into all teaching environments so as to further their agenda of equal educational opportunities.

d. One current piece of legislation that the California Teachers Association supports is the Charter Bill (AB 1505 and AB 1507). This bill, which just became a law, “brings much-needed accountability and transparency to privately managed charter schools.”

e. The California Teachers Association’s headquarters are located in Burlingame, California. They already had all of their local conferences for 2019 (such as the Region 1 Leadership Conference on October 11-13), but do have an upcoming High Desert Service Center Council Fall Leadership Conference in Las Vegas on November 2-24.

f. There are not listed volunteer opportunities for the CTA, however, they do detail actions that parents can take to become more involved in their child’s education.

g. Additional interesting development of the California Teachers Association include their advocacy on class sizes, a well-rounded education, and access to preschool.

3. Comparison of Interest Groups

The Center for Education Reform seems to be more organized and successful in their pursuits of changing America’s schooling system to offer equal opportunities to all students. The Center for Education Reform’s target audience is students, whereas the California Teachers Association’s target audience is teachers. The supporters of the Center for Education Reform tend to be parents and advocates for equal rights.

4. PAC

a. Career Education Corporation PAC

b. This PAC provides money to fund its schools and pay employee salaries in order to provide “quality, career-focused learning led by passionate professionals.”

c. The Career Education Corporation PAC has raised a total of $9,158. They have spent a total of $10,000. Their beginning cash on hand was $44,770, and their end cash on hand is $43,928.

d. In 2020, $2.5k has been spent on Democrats, whereas $0 has been spent on Republicans.

e. The only donor shown is John Kline, who is an employee of the Career Education Corporation. He has made several $250 donations throughout 2019. This reflects that the interests of this PAC are supported by a limited number of people.

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Blog Post #4 Political Party Action

Republican Party:

Brief Statement: Education of our children is incredibly important, and is the role of state governments, not the federal government. The republican party disagress with Common Core and national standards/assessments.

Do you agree with their position? Why or why not?

I do agree with the Republican Party’s position on education because they believe in the significance of education, but do not support national standards, such as Common Core. As Common Core has been implemented in my schooling, I do not agree with its teaching, and feel that it rather confuses students more, and does not stimulate in-depth learning.

Democratic Party:

Brief Statement: The Democratic Party believes in the importance of education, however, wishes to use taxpayers’ money to pay for student debts/for many students to go to college. The Democratic Party also wants to crack down on for-profit schools (like private schools).

Do you agree with their position? Why or why not?

I disagree with this position because I do not think United States citizens should be heavily taxed to pay for others’ educations. I also went to a private K-8 school because that is what my parents deemed best, and think that private schools should be allowed to be for-profit.

Libertarian Party:

Brief Statement: The Libertarian Party believes that all people should have access to high-quality education. This party thinks that parents should have the choice for their child’s education, and that parents should be responsible for paying for their child’s schooling.

Do you agree with their position? Why or why not?

I agree with the LIbertarian Party’s position because they give parents the choice and reponsibility for paying for their child’s education. I also agree with their belief in access for all to education.

Green Party:

Brief Statement: The Green Party supports equal access to high-quality education, for all student groups, and a sharp increase in the amount of financial aid given.

Do you agree with their position? Why or why not?

I disagree with the Green Party’s stance on education because while it is important for everybody to have equal access to education, in order to provide a greater amount of financial aid, the American people will have to pay a lot of their hard-earned money.

Peace and Freedom Party:

Brief Statement: The Peace and Freedom Party believes in free high-quality education for all people, from preschool through graduate school. The Peace and Freedom Party wishes to cancel all student-debt.

Do you agree with their position? Why or why not?

I disagree with the Peace and Freedom Party’s position because while this ideology would be great in a perfect world, in reality, taxpayers would be paying insanely high taxes in order to pay for every student’s education, which would hurt the economy.

Which party position do you identify with most? Is that surprising? Would you vote for the Presidential candidate?

I agree most with the Republican Party’s position. This is because I believe in the importance of education, and that state governments should rule public education, not the federal government. This is not very surprising because I am pretty moderate in my views, leaning slightly towards the Republican Party. I would possibly vote for the Republican Presidential candidate, however, I cannot make a sure statement about my voting choice until the time comes to fill out the ballot.

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Blog Post #3 Constitutional Issues

1.      What is the name of the case?

The name of the case is Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education.

2.      The term it was decided?

The term that the Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education was decided was June 28, 2007. This was decided by Roberts Court, under the presidency of George W. Bush.

3.      Briefly summarize the facts of the case.

The facts of this case include that Jefferson County Public Schools had an enrollment plan to keep racial segregation. Student enrollment was decided on factors that included ethnicity. No school was allowed to have less than 15%, or greater than 50% of African American students in their population. Parents, including Meredith, sued the school district, stating that this plan violated the students’ Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection by the law. The District Court, as well as the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the plan constitutional because they thought the school district simply had an interest in maintaining racial diversity. Meredith appealed the case to the Supreme Court, who ruled the school district’s plan unconstitutional in a 5-4 vote. The Supreme Court ruled that the school district’s plan was unconstitutional, as it violated the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.

4.      What is the constitutional question the justices were deciding?

The justices were deciding two constitutional questions:

1. Do the decisions from Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger enable a school district to assign high school students to public schools based on only race?

2. Can a school district’s enrollment plan that requires every school’s student population to be between 15% and 50% African American meet the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement that classifications based on race can be narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest?

5.      Which constitutional provisions or amendments are in question?

The Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment is in question.

6.      What was the decision?

In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court decided that the Jefferson County Board of Education was being unconstitutional. The court decided that their enrollment plan was unconstitutional as it did not follow the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment. The court stated that Jefferson County’s use of race was unconstitutional, but public schools can consider ethnicity to make equal educational opportunities. Chief Justice John Roberts said, “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

7.      What precedent does this decision establish?

This decision establishes the precedent that all ethnicities are equally protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. It also establishes that public schools can consider race to make equal educational opportunities, but only if they are equal.

8.      Do you agree or disagree with the court’s decision? Explain.  

I agree with the court’s decision because it seemed that the Jefferson County Board of Education was segregating schools based on race, which does not uphold the idea of equal educational opportunities under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Article: 

“Still Separate, Still Unequal: Teaching about School Segregation and Educational Inequality” 

- The New York Times; May 2, 2019

Subject: The subject of this article is that segregation, although illegal, still pervades public schools, and has serious consequences for students of color.

Author: The author of this article is Keith Meatto. Meatto is a Yale graduate, a nonfiction writer (published in The New York Times, The Forward, The Millions, The Texas Observer, etc.), and a professor at NYU.

Context: This article came right after a TIME article which sparked interest after stating that “more than half of the nation’s schoolchildren are in racially concentrated districts, where over 75 percent of students are either white or nonwhite.” This article also comes at a time where people are becoming more aware of racism in our modern world.

Audience: The intended audience is the American public, to bring awareness to the segregation that still pervades our public schools.

Perspective: This article takes a slightly liberal perspective, however, the author tries to stay objective while using statistical evidence.

Significance: The significance of this article is that although segregation has been illegal for about 65 years, it still continues in today’s world. This segregation also has an unfair effect on the education of students of color.

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Blog Post #2 Media Assessment of Issue

Liberal Source: The Huffington Post

Link: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sat-college-board-drops-adversity-score_n_5d657a68e4b022fbceb2344b

Subject: The main subject of this article is on the College Board’s decision to not create an adversity score (which would assign a single number to a student based on their “privilege”). This was the College Board’s first attempt to address educational inequality for standardized tests. The College Board decided to not go forward with the adversity score because they realized that one number cannot represent the wide range of factors that may affect a person’s education. However, they are making another platform called Landscape which will give colleges a more detailed report on a student’s environment, socioeconomic metrics, etc..

Author: The author of this article is Antonia Blumberg. Blumberg is a Californian journalist for Huffington Post, and focuses on politics, religion, and world affairs.

Context: This article was written on August 27, 2019, in California. This article was published at the beginning of the school year, just days after the first SAT of the season. This affects the meaning of the source, in that, College Board jurisdiction applies to almost all high school students.

Audience: This article was created for parents of students, as well as students, who are taking College Board tests and applying to college at this time.

Perspective: The author takes a slightly subjective look at privilege factoring into SAT scores. Blumblerg leans slightly left when discussing white privilege allowing Caucasian students to earn better scores. 

Significance: As evidence, the author uses quotes from the College Board’s Chief Executive, as well as score metrics from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Conservative Source: Forbes

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindadarlinghammond/2019/08/05/americas-school-funding-struggle-how-were-robbing-our-future-by-under-investing-in-our-children/#388245f95eaf

Subject: This article asserts that educational disparities in America are a direct result��of the way public schools are funded (through mainly local property taxes). The article continues to cite evidence that supports the notion that state governments who give more funding to public schools create a better life in the long-term for low income students (i.e. lower crime rate, higher graduation rate, decreased wage gap, higher household income, etc.).

Author: The author of this article is Linda Darling-Hammond. She is president of the Learning Policy Institute, professor emeritus at Stanford University, founding director of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, and led Barack Obama’s 2008 education policy transition team.

Context: This article was published on August 5, 2019, right before the beginning of the school year. The context of this date is significant, in that, many people are looking at the school year ahead, and considering the opportunities that it may bring.

Audience: This source was made to convince lawmakers and government officials of the need for increased public school funding, as well as to make students and parents aware of the issue.

Perspective: The author takes a slightly subjective view in this article, as she attempts to appeal to conservatives in her financial debate.

Significance: The author uses ample evidence to support her claim, including reports from the Center for American Progress and the Southern Education Foundation, statistics from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a study conducted by Northwestern University, and state census data.

Objective Source: ABC News

Link: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4509830&page=1

Subject: The main subject of this article is discussing a study in which African American students in disadvantaged areas fell behind 1+ years of schooling, simply because of their location.

Author: The author of this article is Amanda Gardner. She is a freelance journalist and has written a bibliography on research at correctional facilities.

Context: This article was written on March 23, 2019, from Chicago. This is an important location, as educational disparities pervade the city of Chicago.

Audience: This article was intended to bring awareness to the American public of the educational inequalities that students, who are primarily African America, face while living in disadvantaged regions.

Perspective: The author takes an objective view, as she focuses more on data and facts, rather than her personal opinion on the matter.

Significance: The author uses a study conducted by Harvard University sociologists on census data from the city of Chicago to support her ideas.

3. What are the similarities and differences between these three accounts of your issue?

Similarities between these three accounts of my issue include the attempt to bring awareness to the inequalities that some students face (based on factors that they cannot control), and the call for action to level educational disparities in America. Differences include the Huffington Post article focusing on a proposed solution to the issue, the Forbes article pleading government officials to grant more funding to underprivileged public schools, and the ABC News article analyzing census data on the challenges that students in disadvantaged areas face.

4. Which source do you identify with most and why?

I identify most with the Huffington Post article, titled “SAT Drops Plan for ‘Adversity Score’ Reflecting Students’ Privilege” because I am a high school senior who just finished taking SATs, and am currently applying to colleges. At this point in my life, decisions made by the College Board would directly affect my scores and college applications.

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Blog Post #1 Conceptualizing the Issue and Assessing Types of Action

1. What civic action issue did you choose and why?

I chose to investigate substandard education in low income areas of America, as apart of my civic action issue. I decided on this topic, as it is one that I have found a passion for over the past 3 years. I have worked extensively with Stege Elementary School, Acalanes’ sister school in Richmond, over my time in high school. Through creating programs for, and working closely with the children of Stege, I have seen firsthand the inequalities in education that students in impoverished regions face.

2. Why is it an issue?

The inequalities of the American education system are a pervasive issue in this country, as education provides a gateway for opportunities of the future. Students in economically struggling areas have access to a lower standard of education, in comparison to affluent regions. This includes a lack of teachers, infrastructure, supplies, as well as chronic absenteeism, high dropout rates, and low government funding.

3. What action do you think needs to be taken to address this issue?

While the solution to education inequality has not been found yet, some actions that can be taken to address this issue include mentor programs, greater access to school supplies, and an increase in the number of teachers employed.

4. List the five people, groups, agencies, or departments that you are following on twitter in your post and explain why. Are there any tweets that you find interesting? That you agree or disagree with? Why?

@ NEAtoday

The National Education Association

@ edreform 

The Center for Ed Reform

@ PIEnetwork

PIE Network

@ TNTP

The New Teacher Project

@ EducationNext

Education Next

A tweet that I found interesting was posted by @PIEnetwork, and was a quote by Senator P.K. Martin that said, “When you invest in people’s success, it will serve you well down the road.” I agree with the Senator’s statement, as it stresses both the importance of education, and the reward that schooling in turn brings.