11 ms·
I don't know if we can account for the wealth difference and "stacked desk" at the school level. My city school district has five high schools in difference par
by pkaye 10y ago
I don't know if we can account for the wealth difference and "stacked desk" at the school level. My city school district has five high schools in difference part of the city. The best ones is near the top of the state academic ranking while the others are average. They all get the same level of funding from the city and the schools look all equally run down. The difference is the demographics of those attending these schools. When they started statewide ranking of schools, families started gravitating to the slightly better schools and driving up the prices on neighboring houses. So this school is full of wealthy and high achieving families despite equal levels of funding.
- EduardoBautista 10y agoYup. I believe that the success of a person has much more to do with their family than what school they go to. But that would place the responsibility on parents instead of the government so this is not a popular opinion.
- striking 10y agoI'm an immigrant. I used to be poor. (after rigorous testing, etc., etc.,) I was given financial aid and accepted into one of the more prestigious private middle schools near me. After that, I went to a (very good) public high school. The difference was that of night and day. The middle school put me ahead of my high school colleagues. I was a year ahead in math, and two years ahead in english. Their computer science education led me to taking APCS a year early, with CS courses at a university shortly thereafter. They had even prepared me for standardized testing like the SSAT and SAT. Yes, your family's important. Yes, there's some anti-intellectualism along the bottommost socioeconomic ranks. But the quality of one's school is a massive factor in how one learns.
- the_gastropod 10y agoDon't most cities contribute a proportion of a school district's property taxes to that district's school(s)? So districts with expensive housing receive more funding than those with cheaper housing. I agree that home life influences schooling outcomes as well. Families with higher incomes can afford for one parent to stay home or to pay for a nanny or whatever. But in addition, many schools are funded disproportionately, where the schools with the most need receive the least funding.
- pkaye 10y agoFor us the school district and city are both the same set so all the property tax funding is pooled together and divided among the schools based on student population and other needs.
- tnecniv 10y agoIf I recall, many of the worst school districts (inner cities) also spend the most dollars per student. I've been told this multiple times, but can't look for a source at the moment. Can someone else confirm or deny?
- vanattab 10y agoThey definitely receive more in federal funds but I am not sure if this takes into account local money raised through levies/property taxes.