Inequalities Within the Marin County School Districts:

Marin County is one of the wealthiest counties in the United States with home values averaging in the millions. However, the injustices occurring within the school system should not be overlooked.

To understand the issue at hand, one must understand the underlying causes. School district policies decide where a child can and cannot attend a school based on their address. The purpose of school districts is to ensure every child is receiving a fair education. However, this system is flawed and is enabling the separation of students based on race and class.

· The segregation occurring within the Marin County School districts enables

the inequalities impacting the quality of education a child receives.

Regardless of their social class every student should be receiving the same

quality of education. Click here to read about the segregation occurring right

now within the Sausalito School district. As a result of the segregation

occurring, schools are being funded in a way that excludes minorities. Students

are being robbed of opportunities that may determine their success in the

future.

The map pictured above displays the salary ranges for various areas in Marin County. San Rafael, Santa Venetia, and the small portion that is Marin City, are the areas with the lowest earnings. It is important to note that the schools within these cities are also the ones struggling in terms of funding. In comparison, the areas that are dark green are so greatly funded that they have access to various programs.

Understanding the impact: · It goes beyond being able to provide extracurriculars or field trips for students. Funding provides resources like college readiness courses or SAT/ACT workshops · It is important to acknowledge the impact this separation can have on the confidence of students. When students have the best soccer coaches or nicest playgrounds, it leads to those who do not have these same resources to feel lesser. · These are only two of the many consequence’s segregation may lead too. · Having access to clubs, sports, college workshops, and college visits is crucial! How can a student include any clubs on their college applications if they did not have access to them? How can we expect students to prepare for the SAT when these workshops are not readily available or inexpensive?

Set objectives: Identifying the issue is the first step. What is equally as important is setting goals that will help us move in the right direction. Through this we will be able to determine the steps towards finding solutions. By setting goals we are making sure it is known what needs to be accomplished. We aim for: · At least two new affordable housing projects to be establish by the Fall of 2022. This will help lower income families move out of the three heavily populated cities, which is a reason behind the segregation occurring within schools. · A central fund to be established for each of the 19 school districts in Marin County within the next 16 months, in order to achieve an equal distribution of funds to each school. · At least 80% of the school board to be reviewed during the Fall of 2022.

Solutions that will help us achieve these outcomes:

1. Invest in affordable housing: Marin County is a very wealthy area that has managed to concentrate minorities into three main cities. Due to unjust district policies student are limited to only being able to attend specific schools causing this segregation of students. Investing in affordable housing outside of these areas would give families the chance to live within different districts.

1. Create a central fund for all Marin district schools: San Pedro Elementary and Glenwood Elementary are two schools located in Marin that are close in proximity of one another. However, only one has readily access to various resources because their funds permit this. A central fund would make sure that these two schools would receive an equal distribution of funds regardless of their parent’s income.

2. Confront district regulations: The purpose of school districts is to ensure students receive a fair education, but that is quite frankly the opposite of what they are achieving in actuality. In order to fix the problem, we must approach it holistically and understand why these districts are designed the way they are, which will unveil areas for improvement and change. We must analyze the school board policies and those in charge.

College readiness does not begin junior year of high school, it begins the first day of Pre-K or Kindergarten. Every year of a child’s education is significant, and it is important that we are setting up a path that gives every student a good quality education. Children are the future, and we need to make sure that every single one of them is being set up for success.

The information presented here is the full responsibility of the poster and not that of California State University, Sacramento.