Inequities in public education

By Ken Berrick

Within Alameda County schools, and most particularly among schools serving the most vulnerable populations in the county, significant disparities exist between schools serving students in wealthier catchment areas and schools in areas of relative poverty. We must begin to address these disparities so that every child in Alameda County has the ability to graduate high school and to access opportunity in an economy where education is predictive of economic well-being.

The link between students living in poverty and our abysmal failure to provide the educational resources to help them to succeed is incontrovertible. Using Oakland schools as an example, the achievement gap between hills schools and schools located in neighborhoods of poverty is overwhelming. The County Office can use its position to draw the districts together to collaborate with social services, probation, mental health, and other service systems to help bring community supports to children living in poverty within the district. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for the County Office + alone -- to have a direct impact on these inequities at the state level. What the County Office can and must do is to act as the bridge between all the systems that touch the lives of children living in poor communities and attending under-resourced schools. The Board can help the County Office to use its position as a collaborative hub, and to help bring resources to bear in support of low-income or disadvantaged students, and the students in greatest need.

My experience in this area is substantial. As Founder and President of Seneca Center for Children and Families, I have worked diligently to understand the education, health, mental health, social services, and probation systems, and the various funding streams that support their mission. In partnership with social services, mental health, and the probation department, this understanding has allowed us to secure millions of dollars in support of some of the Bay Area's most vulnerable children and youth, and to work creatively to braid disparate funding streams in support of a common goal. Some of the programs created with these funding streams have included: MST (a program which provides intensive family-based interventions for probation youth resulting in significant reductions in recidivism), counseling-enriched community day schools (which provide the support necessary for students to succeed), and intensive day treatment programs for youth with significant emotional disturbance and/or mental illness. I believe that my experience with cross-system funding may be crucial to inspire and promote collaboration between the Alameda County Office of Education, the school districts, and the other public systems.