Wendy Lecker: Why We Should Invest More In Neediest Children
Wendy Lecker is a civil rights lawyer who specializes in issues related to education and children.
A new Education Week national survey of school districts reveals disturbing gaps between state and federal policy and the reality in American public schools.
The vast majority of districts report major funding problems. Most list rising special education costs and rising levels of needy students as their top challenges. They also doubt they are financially prepared for the next recession.
The most serious funding problem districts report is convincing elected officials to sufficiently fund public schools. They give both state and federal officials poor marks for their ability to understand school spending, and cite state legislators as the biggest obstacle to making spending decisions that best address student needs. Rather than address need, state legislators perpetuate myths about school spending and quality.
Scholars Sally Nuamah, Jamila Michener, and Domingo Morel have found that poor communities, like school district leaders, lose faith in elected officials, and worse, in democratic institutions, when they experience policies that exacerbate rather than respond to their challenges.
Recent research highlights the failure of federal and state leaders to grasp the reality facing public schools. The CONTINUE READING: Wendy Lecker: Why We Should Invest More In Neediest Children | Diane Ravitch's blog