How ZIP codes determine the quality of a child’s education
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Students at Allentown’s Harrison-Morton Middle School look forward to hearing the squeaky wheels of the technology cart approaching their classroom, though the iPads they hold may not be the latest models and time with them is limited.
A luxury in Allentown schools, such technology has become a necessity for many suburban students — something they’re accustomed to tapping at-will and often.
Technology is one of the many things that separate students in Pennsylvania’s school districts, where wealth equates to quality.
Food is another. That’s why the staff at Donegan Elementary School on Bethlehem’s South Side sends students home with a bag of healthy snacks on weekends.
Because clothing also can divide students who have from those who have not, the Bethlehem Area School District installed a washer and dryer at Donegan, ensuring children have access to clean clothes.
Language sets students or schools apart, too. And so do ZIP codes, education reformers say, effectively segregating students by income and race.
The problem
Where you live determines what type of education you receive in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Where the tax base is high, the educational offerings tend to be many. Where it is low, the options decline.
The gap isn’t just between districts but sometimes between schools in the same district.
Joan Preston, who has been teaching science in Allentown for more than two decades, tries to put CONTINUE READING: How ZIP codes determine the quality of a child's education
