The Wicked Truth of the Opportunity Gap

"A child's future should not be predetermined by the circumstances of their birth." -Anindya Kundu

This graphic demonstrates equality versus equity but showing that in equality everyone is giving the same thing, but the 3rd person cannot see over the fence. In the equity picture, everyone is given what they need to see over the fence.

The opportunity gap- what does that mean to you? Unlike its name, this gap is not a space or break between 2 objects. This gap is the metaphorical difference in education caused by uncontrollable factors such as income, race, gender and zip code. "The opportunity gap is the way social or economic factors result in lower rates of success in a variety of life aspirations," (Close the Gap Foundation).

The opportunity gap is a wicked problem because it is rooted in systemic racism that has caused a divide in the success of marginalized communities of people. A big contributing factor to the opportunity gap is inequities in our education system. The problem lies in the fact that lower income communities and schools need more funding to help their students be successful- and they are not given this funding many times. The opportunity gap not only affects students and families while they are going through school, but it has long term-effects. "Having a high-quality education system for all students regardless of their ZIP codes is not only the democratic measure for leadership, it is increasingly the major determinant of a nation's economic fate, (Schott Foundation)." Investing in equitable education is not only beneficial to marginalized communities, but it has the best interest of our future in mind as we foster confident learners and future leaders.

Tackling the Opportunity Gap:

Every child deserves access to a good education. Every child deserves opportunities to explore, create and be inspired by education. Regardless of a zip code, neighborhood, family income, every child has the right to an education. That is what inspired the thought behind attempting to tackle to wicked problem of the opportunity gap. This problem is deep and intertwined with historical and racial contexts. However, there are 3 main questions that drove the thinking behind this problem:

• What is the opportunity gap?

• How does the opportunity gap show up in schools and school communities?

• What factors affect the size of the opportunity gap?

Potential Solutions for the Opportunity Gap

When diving into this issue and researching the implications of the opportunity gap, we found areas in which we could grow with proper systemic changes. We continued to look into these possibilities and started to visualize a future in which action was taken and steps to lessen the gap were taken. The 3 solutions we focused on were:

• Funding Solutions- ways that we can allocate local funding to be more equitable of individual success

• Teacher Solutions- ways to support teachers to increase retention and student-teacher relationships

• Community Solutions- ways to incorporate community resources to give students space and opportunities to continue their learning when not in school

These solutions will take large amounts of planning, work and money but they shift the priority to the students and their education. Education is the foundation for all knowledge and the tool that we have to help protect our future and create a better world than the one we live in now. If we invest in the education of everyone, we are investing in the future of everyone. No one's educational value should be determined by their birth circumstances. As teachers, we have to create culturally responsive classrooms that foster open-minds and curious thinkers. When we create environments that honor and respect everyone, we can start to create future leaders that care about the success of everyone. "Social inequities begin in the earliest years of life — and will continue if we do not make meaningful changes in the systems, policies and structures that perpetuate racism and White privilege in America," (Early Learning Network, 2016).

This is our multimodal poster we created to represent our problem and potential solutions. Click on the poster to see it in a new tab!

This TED talk is about the opportunity gap and disparities in the current education system with funding and student opportunity.

Sources:

Manager, S. N. S. M., Nadeau, S., Manager, S. M., Gordon Director, P., Gordon, P., Director, Director, J. P. S., Parshall, J., Director, S., Fiddiman, B., Campbell, N., Quirk, A., Olinsky, B., Buchanan, M. J., Rowland-Shea, J., & Coffey, M. (2021, August 23). A Quality Approach to School Funding. Center for American Progress. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/quality-approach-school-funding/

Editor, B. (2019, May 9). Inside IES research. IES. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/research/post/weighted-student-funding-is-on-the-rise-here-s-what-we-are-learning#:~:text=Weighted%20student%20funding%20(WSF)%20is,exists%20to%20assess%20their%20effectiveness.

Ludvik, D. (2020, June 29). Four promising factors to close opportunity gaps among children of color. Early Learning Network. https://earlylearningnetwork.unl.edu/2020/06/29/four-promising-factors-to-close-opportunity-gaps-among-children-of-color/