Disparities In Education Case Study

Biking down Lyons Avenue in my Houston neighborhood Fifth Ward, I pass by the grocery store my family visits weekly. I see the barber shop my mom took me to get my bi-weekly buzz cuts. I see the laundromat where my older brother and I would spend rolls of quarters at the claw machine and air hockey table. During the summer, we would make daily trips to the raspaderia to get our fix of shaved ice. To me, I imagined I had everything I wanted: a home, a loving family, and my newly refurbished bicycle. Although during the day Fifth Ward seemed like a peaceful neighborhood, lampposts brought out a community hidden in the shadows. At around 11 PM, Crips and smack dealers roved Lyons Avenue. After midnight, sirens and frequent gunshots thundered throughout the streets.
Low-income areas are often associated with uneducated people of color reaping the benefits of the welfare system. Here, education systems are organized to limit the capabilities and opportunities of every resident. For me, this issue is the primary motivator to dedicating my career to public service. Realizing the inequities present within my community has allowed me to focus on tackling the overarching issue that has continues to create so many disparities in my home: inequity in education.
If you look at the East side of Houston, public schools are often underfunded, under resourced, and unkempt. Teachers neglect students and encouragement for higher education is limited. Moreover, public schools in low-income neighborhoods often contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. One example is early age school suspension: if a student is suspended at a young age, they are more likely to do worse in school. Students internalize the idea that they are causing so many problems in the classroom that they have to miss school. This gives students the impression that they will ultimately fail throughout their following years in