Addressing Inequity in Education for a Fairer Future
By: Natalie Ureno
Coming from the Hayward Unified School District in the East Bay, my public K-12 experience was fruitfully challenging. As a student, I enjoyed my academic experience because of my educators, but I noticed that resources were scarce. I would always feel emotions of confusion and indifference when we would run out of supplies for our educational activities. For instance, I remember that when I was in the third grade, I asked my teacher if they had a pencil I could use and they did not. Then, my teacher had to ask my classmates if anyone had an extra pencil I could borrow, and one of my classmates begrudgingly handed me one. Everyday was a struggle to make due with the circumstances we were given, students and educators alike. I would watch my educators struggle and work tirelessly, constantly having to pay out of pocket and put in unpaid time to support the curriculum they were expected to teach, without any true support from the Hayward Unified School District. Parents and students within HUSD had to do fundraising on their own for extracurricular activities, like band and wrestling, as well as provide their own supplies to be able to participate in extracurricular activities, while neighboring districts’ extracurriculars were completely funded by their respective schools.
I was also a high school volunteer in Tyrrell Elementary’s migrant program, where I would teach new coming students who were English language learners how to speak, read, and write in English. Despite not being qualified myself, I was used as a resource because our school’s classrooms were overcrowded and underfunded, and ELLs were pushed aside because they were not able to keep up with other students.
Throughout my career, I have worked in after school programs through the east bay, predominantly in Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, and Union city. Working in these respective districts has opened my eyes to prevalent issues that cloud California’s public education system. There is educational inequity and accessibility to resources within public schools. Teachers have to figure out how to make effective lesson plans with only pencils and paper, while other teachers have access to everything they desire. Students’ educational outcomes are heavily dependent on which district they are from because of school funding, leaving a large disparity in students’ quality of education. We are left to struggle and provide resources through our communities of educators, parents, and local volunteers. Any positive impact that I experienced was due to my teachers and community picking up the slack that my district should have been directly involved with, which has made me feel like my community has been disregarded within the public education system.
My personal experiences being in the classroom as a student and as an educator have inspired me to advocate for increased funding and equity in public education.
There should be no reason why students’ aren’t provided with equal opportunities, regardless of the district they reside in. I decided to pursue a career in education as an after school program teacher, and I have ultimately had to do the same things as my educators before me in order to provide my students with the resources and opportunity to learn. I do this for the marginalized black and brown youth who come from different backgrounds, searching for a sense of belonging and support within the classroom, which is supposed to be a safe space to think deeply and disagree fruitfully. I do this for the educators who work with what they have, bootstrapping their lesson plans and putting in overtime for students to have a greater future. I do this for myself, the little girl who is now an educator, to bridge the gap to create a better future for all.
The reality I desire for the future of education is possible, and one way this can be achieved is through the reform of Prop. 13. There is an abundance of money being withheld by big corporations and billionaires in California, and this is funding that can go directly into California’s public schools, providing students with bountiful opportunities to succeed. With that being said, I urge everyone to remain educated, informed, and to recognize that education is a universal right.