Issues in multi cultural education

To date, only a handful of studies have empirically investigated the relationship between school locations and their constituencies. The students that are living in the low income areas of Richmond are more diverse than the ones that are living in the counties that surround the city. For instance, Houghton High School located in one of the low income areas of Richmond County has a Ninety Two Percent minority rate among there attending students.

Fifty Six percent of the student population at Houghton High is economically disadvantaged. Over half of the students that attend this high school receives free lunch. In 2013 while hosting the third annual white housesciencefair President Obama spoke on how one of his main focuses as president has been how to create an all-hands-on- deck approach to the STEM curriculum. This curriculum includes science, technology, engineering, and math.

He also mentions how ” We need to make this a priority to train an army of new teachers in these subject areas, and to make sure that all of us as a country are lifting up these subjects for therespectthat they deserve.”  Right outside the Richmond County school district still located in Richmond State is Henries County. Located about 20 Minutes away from Houghton High is Deep Run High School which is part of the Henries County public school district.. Deep Run High School in contrast to Houghton High has a twenty percent minority rate.

The Majority of the students that attend Deep Run High School are white. Only about two percent of the students who attend this school participate in the free lunch program.  These students also rank eighty nine percent in proficiency in math. The annual per pupil expenditure in Henries County Public Schools is 9, 650 per pupil in 2013. The annual per pupil expenditure in Richmond County Public Schools is 11, 218.

This proves that it the inequities do not lie in the shortage ofmoneybeing provided by the local and federal funds. Individuals from families that are still together completed, on average, more years of school and are also more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, and complete college compared to students raised in blended or ingle-parent families. Their parents have more involvement in their school activities and have higher expectations for them. The answer then to closing the gap on students’ performance in school has to start with a program to inspire low income families to stay together and build a strong support system for one another to be successful. The Strengthening Families Program (SSP) is a nationally and internationally recognized parenting andfamilystrengthening program for high-risk and regular families. This program teaches parents and students with broken home valuable skills that can increase their chances for success.

It also has been shown to reduce problem behaviors, delinquency, and alcohol anddrug abusein children and to improve social competencies and school performance. Past research reported that teenage males from minority groups often engage more in high-risk behaviors at school such as weapon possession, gang involvement, and fighting than any other group. The Strengthening families program’s take home DVD had ten thirty minute sessions for parents and students to watch together.

These DVD’s can be viewed at the discretion of the family preferably once a week. The Strengthening Families Program is an excellent tool to use to help aid in situations where families are in low income single parent orpovertystricken situations. Grappling with the issues of equity and excellence has become ever more complex solutions seem more and more remote as the divides between socioeconomic groups become greater and greater, and ethnic diversity of the student population continues to present ever-increasingstresson the educational system..

Because of inequalities students that attend school in Henries, Chester field and surrounding counties are receiving a higher level ofeducationthan the students that attend school in certain parts of Richmond. Whether or not they are income based, minority based, or Just lack of good parenting. The fact still remains that there is a dish connect between students that are being raised in such a close proximity. How can people on one side of the tracks sit around and watch students on the other side of the tracts do so poorly in school? This problem is deeply rooted in the community as well as in the individual family unit.

Through the implementation of people that care and some programs that could aid in recovery one day we will all be able to stand hand and hand and succeed as a whole.