Dear president of the United States,

Congratulations on becoming the leader of our country, I would assume that this has been a very draining race for you and I hope you have been able to relax a bit before you step into full time presidential duties. However, the reason I am writing to you today is because I want to bring to your attention a standard that is currently falling far behind what it should be in our amazing country. Education. Our education system has some serious flaws that I hope you will try to make progress on throughout your presidency. The first major flaw I see is the differentiation in funding between our highest and lowest class schools. This can be attributed to many things, including implicit bias, in our society, where we believe that richer students will achieve better things, or even just the higher-class schools having more sponsors to pay for the tools needed for a student to succeed. Another standard that needs help is the enforcement of kids staying in school. Obviously, I know that a student can choose to end their education at any point, however, I believe that we should extend help to those students who need to stay home to support their families. If a child stays home and doesn’t attend school because they decide that their family needs their help, then these children are setting themselves up for the same future as their parents. Without a proper education, it would be very hard to find a job and it is likely that they could end up on the streets. What I want to know from you is, is our country taking steps to improve education for students across the country, considering all the situations and areas?

Is our country taking steps to improve our education system and give help to schools that need more funding and are struggling to support their students? This is a question that needs to be asked right now. The schools in the poorest 25 percent of Illinois districts measured per-pupil funding at around $13,500 in 2014 (Burnett). This is roughly $1,500 less than what is spent on the wealthiest 25 percent in the same area. This shows that the divide in school funding is quite drastic and it is very important for us to do everything we can to make sure that students placed in these struggling schools get just as good of an education as you or I have. Obviously, there are people who disagree with what I’m saying, but in my opinion these people are not aware that schools in poor areas are suffering and they are just focused on bettering their own school. It is important for people to open their eyes to see what others are going through and do what they can to help. Every student deserves a good education that sets them up for success in the future.

 “6 in 10, in a student body of 1,100, are failing to meet grade-level standards.” (Simon). These are horrible numbers that prove that our failing education system is a plague that is sweeping across our nation like wildfire. In Connecticut, a group of mayors, educators, and parents sued the state for failing to provide a sufficient education for all students, regardless of where they lived or what kind of background they had. This proves that people realize that their children are not getting a sufficient education and they are trying to be proactive and help in whatever ways they can.

Is our country taking steps to improve our education system and keep kids in school, especially those who come from troubling situations? This question is key to improving the lives of our younger generations. Currently, there are many kids who are out of school or struggling in school/struggling to stay in school due to homelessness. 1.3 million homeless students are currently enrolled in American schools. This is an amazing number but there are still so many people struggling to return to school if they don’t have legal guardians or are out of range for buses to pick them up. Schools all over the country are trying hard to better recognize homeless students and their struggles at home. I know that some people might disagree with these efforts because they think that the homeless did something to deserve where they are and they shouldn’t be able to change their position. I would respond to this by saying that the homeless are people too and they deserve every right to change their life as you or I have. This matters because our homeless crisis needs to be resolved or at least bettered and if our nation can help make it easier for homeless students to get an education and change their lives for the better, then, in the long run, it would make a difference for our society.

Hopefully this all proves to you that our nation's education policies need to be altered in a way that helps to break ground on the path for a better tomorrow for our children. I hope I succeeded in at least opening your eyes to this major issue in our country, and I hope that from my letter you have sparked a bit of interest in reading further into the topic that I’ve shown you today. I wish you the best in your time as the president.

Best of Luck,

Ellen P.