D.C. students need academic support, diverse connections for economic mobility

Education is the blueprint for good economic mobility.

But when students don’t have the right resources to ensure a quality education, it’s often low-income families who suffer the most, said For Love of Children (FLOC) Executive Director LaToya Clark. According to , children from low-income families grow up to earn an average of $25,600 per year. Opportunity insights.

Families in Washington, D.C., need better economic mobility, and experts say that starts with getting children educated and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Students without a high school diploma earn an average of $738 per week, while students with a high school diploma earn approximately $930 per week. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Conversely, those with a bachelor’s degree earn about $1,543 a week.

Clark said low-income students have fewer economic advantages to their education and the challenges facing public schools make it difficult for them to catch up.

From local funding and educational assistance programs to strengthening educator diversity, here are some of the ways researchers and advocates are working to improve economic mobility in D.C. schools.

student support program

Clark said that for many students, falling behind academically is due to circumstances beyond their control.

She said a lack of teachers, large classrooms and scant funding may mean the educational environment is not well-equipped to put students on the right path. A one-dimensional education can hinder future career opportunities and limit students’ economic mobility.

That’s where community organizations like FLOC come in to fill the academic and social gaps left by schools.

Clark said FLOC has multiple services that provide underserved students with a more personalized academic experience. In the Neighborhood Tutoring Program, students are evaluated at the grade level in which they are performing, rather than by grade level. Students are then matched with volunteers who follow a curriculum that matches their performance level, ranging from college students to retirees.

There’s also the Pathways Forward program, an after-school opportunity for D.C. youth in grades 7 through 12, aimed at increasing high school graduation rates. The program helps students at risk of academic failure find ways to succeed and helps students in grades 10-12 prepare for graduation or transition to higher education programs. Both Neighborhood Tutoring and Pathways Forward are free.

“Everything we offer is designed to close achievement gaps, increase student confidence and ensure young people have the skills and support they need to succeed in school and beyond,” Mr Clark said.

And the design is also useful for students. Clark recalled a girl, the eldest of six, who felt the need to help her mother care for her siblings. Until she found FLOC, she was behind in school. The girl credited FLOC’s personalized and accessible approach to education with allowing her to attend college and enter the profession.

While FLOC is a trusted resource for D.C. youth to receive academic support, there are many other organizations working to close educational gaps and improve students’ future economic mobility.

Mind Matter DC We help underserved students prepare for college and find accessible paths to success. The organization offers mentoring, SAT preparation, access to summer enrichment programs, and guidance through the college application and financial aid processes.

Minds Matter’s work addresses disproportionate statistics. 89% of students come from “wealthy” backgrounds According to a report published by Brookings, only 51% of students from low-income families attend college, compared to those in their families. Minds Matter reported that 100% of students attend a four-year college or university.

of DC school projectis a program of the Center for Social Justice that provides academic support and English tutoring to low-income and immigrant families. Each semester, approximately 60 tutors assist approximately 100 students, their families, and other DC immigrants.

DC CAP Scholar Our mission is to provide young people with financial and academic opportunities that will help them succeed in college. Organization registration is currently being accepted Ward 7 and 8 Scholarshipsa $12,000 annual scholarship for students who attended these D.C.-area high schools. These areas include communities such as Congress Heights, Deanwood, and Anacostia, which are some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.

rise We provide tutoring and college instruction to underserved populations. Its primary focus is Opportunity Academy, which includes three schools in Washington, D.C.: Ballou STAY, Luke C. Moore, and Garnet-Patterson STAY. These academies are “second chance” schools for students who did not graduate from high school on the traditional schedule.

Ricardo Cooper, executive director of RISE, said the organization provides real-time tutoring to students at these academies through its Keep Up tutoring program. RISE also offers summer literacy “boot camps” and college preparation for underserved students.

A native Washingtonian, Cooper said he wishes he had had an opportunity like RISE when he was a kid. That’s why it’s special for him to lead an organization that helps young people in Washington, D.C. overcome the academic and financial barriers they once faced.

“We know that if you go to college and get a degree, you’ll make more money,” Cooper says. “Having access to these programs to support young people in school and help them graduate from high school, go to college, and feel confident in completing courses and understanding content is critical to raising the poverty line.”

While these programs are critical to the success of many students, Matthew Shirell, associate professor of educational leadership at George Washington University, said there are many fundamental solutions to supporting children that schools should be aware of.

Diverse learning opportunities

Sirel’s identified by research Diversity is a key link to positive relationships between teachers and students.

“Having a more diverse faculty definitely benefits all students because it’s like teachers have access to a library of different perspectives,” Schiller said.

He said teachers’ responsibilities are not only academic, but also increasingly responsible for dealing with the social and emotional issues that students bring to school. Having a diverse team of educators in each school allows teachers to connect with students and turn potential barriers into new paths.

But achieving this isn’t just about championing diversity, Schiller said, it’s also a way for students to secure a better future and escape the criminal justice system.

Schiller pointed to the idea of ​​”exclusive discipline.” Schiller’s research found that black and Latino students were significantly less likely to be suspended from school if they had a teacher of the same racial or ethnic background.

While teachers who come from different backgrounds than students tend to resort to harsher disciplinary action, it may actually be due to cultural misunderstandings and misunderstandings, Schiller said.

In the long run, this disciplinary bias can disproportionately impact underserved communities. Schiller said relentless discipline can lead to students making bad decisions outside of school and getting caught up in the criminal justice system.

During these formative years, students need the support, understanding, and guidance that only diverse educators can provide.

“You can’t get that from books,” Schiller says. “The best way to learn that is to work with people who you know are doing things differently than you. There’s great value in having a diverse workforce: racially, linguistically, economically.”

Securing education from open-minded teachers is especially important in underserved areas of Washington, D.C., such as the 7th and 8th wards. D.C. youth can experience completely different lives and opportunities just by living around the block. Diverse educators can help bridge social divides, but having students from different economic backgrounds share a classroom allows them to see different perspectives and develop critical thinking skills, Schiller said.

Fortunately, this sentiment holds true in Washington, DC, a city with high social capital. In other words, there is a high possibility that low-income people and high-income people will become friends or pass each other. According to , about 50% of low-income people’s friends are high-income people, and low-income people are only 4.7% less likely to become friends with a high-income person they meet. Opportunity insights.

While there is never a single, simple solution in increasing economic mobility for students and their families, RISE Executive Director Cooper said having educators who embody multiple perspectives and ensuring students are aware of the financial and academic support programs available to them is a powerful way to set children on brighter economic and professional paths.

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes along with that.” [improving economic mobility]But if a student has confidence in themselves, confidence in what they can do, and goes on to college and excels, their chances are even better,” Cooper said.

This article is part of a national effort to examine how geography, policy, and local context influence access to opportunity. To find more stories, go to economic opportunity lab.com.