Poor Schools vs. Rich Schools Achievement

Poor Urban School’s Academic Achievement vs. Suburban Rick School’s Achievement

Our in class discussions on Tuesday night has led me to think more about poverty in our school system. I am not talking about the background of the students who attend our schools, I am talking about the poverty within the school district or particular school building.
I remember watching a special on Oprah in regards of the reasons behind low test scores in Urban Schools and the reasons behind Urban student’s lack of preparation for college. I remember she compared the test score of students who attended a poor Urban Chicago High School to the test scores of students who attended a rich Suburban Chicago High School; the schools were located within miles of each other. Oprah stated that the graduate rate from both High Schools was pretty high. She also stated that the rate of students who continue on to college from both schools was very high. The only difference was that students from the Urban Chicago school did not feel prepared for college and were failing their Sophomore year in college.
Oprah took a group from the Suburban school students and brought them over to the Urban school for a day. The camera crew and the students went inside the Urban School and filmed how the school looked and functioned within the school day. The Suburban High School students were amazed to see the condition that the school building was in. The painting on walls was falling; the ceiling was cracked; the bathrooms were dirty and not taken care of. The school did not have a computer lab nor did it have gym. The Urban school students were using very old textbooks and the teachers were the once providing the reading materials for their students.
Then Oprah took a group of the Urban students and brought them over to the Suburban School to see how a school day goes on there. The students got teary when they saw all of the privileges the Suburban students had. They had three different computer labs, with bright new computers and software. The school had a large gym, with separate swimming pool and basketball courts; tennis courts; football courts. The students were using new materials and technology was available for each classroom.
When I watched the show I couldn’t help but wonder why is there such a big cap between those two schools? The reason behind the differences of student preparation for college were obvious to me. The Urban students had less resources available to them and that is why their preparation for college in comparison to the Suburban students was lacking. The question that remains is why our government allows such differences to exist? Why are our Urban students left behind? Is there a way out or are we letting our next generation suffer because of our ignorance?