Dear Future President,

I'm writing this letter to call to attention the issue of quality education for lower income students. I would like to outline a few reasons as to why this is an issue of concern that should be addressed.

I don't often think about the education quality of others because I'm always thinking about my own, but as soon as I started researching, I realized how big of a problem it actually is. Low-income students fail to graduate at five times the rate of middle-income families and six times that of higher-income youth, according to a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Low income students all deserve to graduate, but it's only possible with a quality education. They are often sent to schools that are in poor condition which has a terrible effect on their learning.

Michelle Lenczuk is an elementary school teacher in Little Fort, Illinois. She pays for fans along with all of the other teachers because the school can't afford air conditioning. She says, "sometimes it's hard to function really well and to be engaged in a lesson, so I can only imagine what the kids are going through, when it's really hot". She also says "if we don't have the resources here, we're not letting our kids achieve to their fullest potential". It must be very difficult for the teachers to see their kids in a bad environment each day. According to dosomething.org, 97% of low-income students rely on school for internet access, but 40 million students do not have high-speed Internet in school.The government needs to make sure that each school has paper, books, computers, educated teachers, healthy lunches, etc... Schools should also have enough space for everyone and be in healthy shape. If each school in the United States met these requirements, then the students success level would increase drastically.

I would never want to see my children learning in poor conditions without the tools they need to succeed at their highest potential. I urge you to consider the points I have made when you address education reform in your presidency.

Sincerely, Eleanor  (a high school student in Minnesota)