Poorly Funded Public Schools (3 Paragraphs)

     Schools mentioned in the novel Savage Inequalities strike similarities with schools in the Hayward Unified School District. One of these similarities is student attendance. Du Sable High in Chicago is a school mentioned in the novel that had attendance issues. “Its student population is now less than 1,600. Of these students, according to data provided by the school, 646 are ‘chronic truants’” (68-69). While student attendance at the poorly funded schools in Chicago are far more extreme, schools in the Hayward Unified School District are having attendance problems as well. According to the website ebcitizen.com, “Average daily attendance for 2012 is 75 percent for 6th grade, 22 percent for 7th, 29 percent for 8th and 16 percent for 9th grade”. These statistics are similar in the sense that a considerable amount of students are cutting class. Unfortunately for the Hayward Unified School District, this is affecting their funds as well as their school rankings.

     Another similarity between schools mentioned in the novel Savage Inequalities and schools in the Hayward Unified School District are graduation rates. According to ebcitizen.com, only 34% of seniors at Tennyson High School in Hayward, California graduated in 2012. The graduation rate for Hayward High on the other hand was much higher at 75%. Despite Hayward High’s higher graduation rate, a considerable 25% of seniors at the school did not graduate. Like Tennyson High, Du Sable High in Chicago had a very low graduation rate as well, although this occurred about twenty years ago. According to the novel Savage Inequalities, for Du Sable High “The graduation rate is 25 percent” (69). Du Sable about twenty years ago had similar graduation rates to Tennyson High today. This information is somewhat a shocker considering Tennyson High is a lot better off financially than Du Sable.

      Schools in California today tend are spending less on their students. Like certain schools in Savage Inequalities, spending per pupil is considerably less than the norm. According to kqed.org, “The latestQuality Counts report from Education Week ranks California 47th overall in how much it spends per student – $8,667 when adjusted for regional cost differences, about $3,000 below the national average of $11,665”. California spending per student is $3,000 less than the national average. This shows how under funded students are. According to the novel Savage Inequalities, “Average expenditures per pupil in the city of New York in 1987 were some $5,500” (83). Schools in the city of New York draw similar statistics. Although schools in New York City spent only $5,500 per pupil, they spent that amount in 1987 as compared to California’s $8,667 spent per pupil today. These low numbers are affecting students in many ways. Spending less per pupil means less materials, less teachers (and potentially worse teachers), bigger classes, and other problems. With this problems arising it is no wonder why students struggle in school. Spending must be increased on education, and not only that, but it must be utilized and distributed properly to erase the problems in our educational system.