While current events have resulted in an increased awareness of social justice and racial equity for some, racial and socioeconomic disparities in education continue. The overwhelming achievement gap between districts is considered a direct result of the available resources at various schools. Private educational institutions have infinitely more flexibility than public school districts. This year, due to public health mandates considered necessary to reopen schools, public districts are finding it to be a near fiscal impossibility while private schools are seemingly more capable to absorb the significant costs of making school buildings safe for both teachers and students. Children who are able to attend private school are already at an advantage with smaller class sizes, teacher/student ratios, and seemingly never-ending budgets. Although private school may seem like an unnecessary luxury to most, the very environment that private schools market as their admissions draw are now the necessary components to reopening all schools in a thoughtful and safe way.
Public schools have historically had insufficient funding. However, to make matters worse, the federal government has threatened to withhold funding to schools that do not open for full-time in-person learning come September despite the risk or the schools ability to meet CDC guidelines. In contrast, private schools that already had the financial resources to meet in-person learning requirements are also eligible for this federal funding. Unfortunately, as the infection rates of COVID-19 continue to rise in most of the United States, the concerns over reopening schools continue. There are countless challenges to face in designing how school will look in September, nevertheless we must keep in the front of our minds our most vulnerable and marginalized communities as we envision the future of education.
To read the full article from the NY Times use the link below:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/0...vate-public-gap.html
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