The election of a black president proved, as nothing else could have, that racism exists, but is no longer a serious problem in the United States. Nothing magically changed when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. We have proven, as a country, that race is no longer an insurmountable obstacle anymore. I have never witnessed racism at Bainbridge Island high school. I actually feel sorry during the MLK assemblies for the handful of black kids at school. It’s as if everyone is staring at them saying “I’m sorry” for no particular reason. Yet there is one huge division that exist within our school that, as a society, I believe we need to face head-on. There is a marked difference in opportunity between different socioeconomic groups at the school. There is a vast inequality between the have and have-nots on this island. We need to further narrow educational inequalities by understanding that these inequalities exist. It is a well-known fact that children from affluent families tend to do better in school. Yet the income divide has received far less attention from policy makers and government officials than gaps in student accomplishment by race. My dream for Bainbridge Island is success for every child, based on nothing but the content of their mind and heart, not their bank accounts.

Doing well in high school isn’t enough to get to the next level, college. Affirmative action is all but dead in United States universities. Lost in the debate of affirmative action is a simple fact, income not race, is a real determining factor in higher education today. Millions of kids are not attending college. Not because they are unqualified, but because they simply cannot afford it. Families that earn in the top 25% of income in the United States send 80% of their children to college. Of the bottom 25% of income earners in the US less than 10% of the children go to college. Family income is the new predictor of a childs future achievement. Education should be the great equalizer in American society. Education can lift less advantaged children and improve their chances for lifetime success as adults. The achievement gap between rich and poor is the new racism in the United States

Why are children from privileged backgrounds more successful in school? Why do these advantages persist over time? These are complex moral dilemmas. Over time, cultural and social differences combine to preserve privilege across many generations. Unequal school financing across school districts is also unfair.

 

My father drives a 13-year-old Chevy Suburban. He does not do this ironically, like some suave hipster. He drives a car with 200,000+ miles on it because my family of four makes $55,000 a year. My family moved here specifically for the educational opportunities that Bainbridge Island high school could provide. My family, like so many others, isn’t poor enough to receive government help and isn’t wealthy enough to afford to live here. We don’t have smart phones, we share a computer, Wi-Fi is one of our largest expenses, we do not travel and we eat more than our share of top Ramen in my house. I fight so hard for every A because I need the merit money for college.

There are major advantages for students from families with more economic resources. Wealthy parents can invest more time and money in weekend sports, ballet, music lessons, math tutors and weekend SAT prep classes. As kids get older parents try to position their children for the best colleges, which is even more essential for success in today’s economy.

What can we do here on Bainbridge Island? I believe Wi-Fi should be free all across Bainbridge Island. Every child should be handed a take home computer in seventh grade. Offer free tutoring in math and English at every level. Hire twice as many student advisors at the high school. The United States, as a whole, needs to find a way to make college more affordable for everybody.

“. . . The richest nation on Earth has never allocated enough resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige our work justifies. We squander funds on highways, on the frenetic pursuit of recreation, on the overabundance of overkill armament, but we pauperize education.” From a speech given by Martin Luther King on March 14, 1964, when he accepted the John Dewey Award from the United Federation of Teachers.