Dear Future President,

To describe America in one word is difficult but I think of opportunity. It is evident that we strive to make sure that children get an education. For children to have opportunities is ideal, but this is a challenge. Each child comes from a different background. Yet, at the same time, each child’s district has different amounts of funding and they distribute that funding differently among each school. These minute differences are significant when it comes to that child’s success in their future. Will this student go to college?

High school funding affecting a child’s chances when it comes to college seems like a stretch. But in reality, it is directly related. If there is more funding, there would be more resources available.

I’ve grown up in Santa Clara most of my life. It is an area where most people value education thus we have competitive high schools. However, according to KQED, the Oakland Unified School District is comprised of schools that are well-funded and not-well-funded. The well-funded schools are in areas where the neighborhood is generally “white and wealthy.” The less-funded schools in the Oakland area are in areas where the neighborhood is generally comprised of minorities. Some are receiving a better education than their peers simply because of the neighborhood they live in even though they are both situated in the same district.

The bias in distributing funds continues the cycle of the “white and wealthy” going to good colleges while the minorities struggle to get into college and even if they get into college, they struggle in college due to fundamental differences of education at the secondary school level.

There are many issues and dilemmas when it comes to education. One way improve education as a whole is to make sure that students have opportunities. A student’s education should be limited by the neighborhood they are in. I hope to see students given the same opportunity regardless of their background. As a result, I hope as the future President, you will make sure funds are distributed fairly and a student’s education will not be affected by their current socioeconomic status.

Sincerely,

Felicia