In your mind's eye imagine the following:
There's a train coming into a stop. On the platform there are 25 kids waiting eagerly to jump on the train. The kids are excited, curious, and innocent. They want to jump on the train! As the wheels roll slowly to a stop, kids jump on, but before all of the kids can get on, the train is off and far out of view. So, the kids run hoping to get on at the next stop, and some do, but some still miss it. So, the remaining kids run and hope to get on at the next stop, a few do, but many still don't. And on and on it goes.
You may be wondering why all of the kids were unable to get on at the first stop. You may be wondering how some 5 year-olds can catch a fast moving train all on their own. The truth is, many cannot.
Now, instead of a train moving quickly on a track taking some kids and not others, imagine a kindergarten classroom of those same 25 kids some understanding the curriculum and progressing and others running along side the 'train' longingly trying to get on. Those few kids who got on later down the track, those are kids who were able to get out-of-district testing, were diagnosed with dyslexia, and were given an appropriate plan for their learning style. Those kids who are still running hoping to somehow get on the train are kids without the funding or resources to get out-of-district testing, who are trying to get on the train, and will do anything to get inside. Sometimes they jump on the side, climb on the top and try to drop in, but they're identified as a 'behavior problem'. All they were trying to do was to get on the train with everyone else.
You may be thinking: "Well, schools do screenings and testing that could help get kids 'back on the train"'. Schools often start doing screening and testing when they see the kids 'jumping on the train', not while they're running beside it. They often wait until kids have behavioral difficulties and then wonder why behaviors exist. I don't mean to be saying this in a patronizing way, but isn't it clear? Behaviors exist because kids aren't getting the academic support they so desperately need. Then, there is a secondary problem in that there is a huge difference in testing within and out of district. In many school districts Special Education testing will result in "Specific Learning Disability in the areas of reading, writing and math". That's as unspecific as I've ever seen. How is a teacher, family, or child supposed to interpret that? How will they get Orton-Gillingham or Wilson with a diagnosis that is so vague? They don't. They get extra time on tests, they get pull out groups and modified work, but the root of the problem, their dyslexia, often goes unaddressed to the level it needs addressing. I can say this with first hand experience. I was a teacher who tried to figure out how to navigate this for my students knowing I didn't have the resources truly needed to help them and feeling stuck in a system that wasn't best supporting my students.
Academic needs not being met lead to social-emotional needs not being met. Children who've had outside testing likely have the resources for out-of-school therapy regardless of what the school may offer. Children who cannot access outside testing also often cannot access out-of-school social-emotional support.
Schools that are underfunded are doing their best to support students but the system is broken. Teachers from K-12 in typical districts don't know enough about dyslexia to identify it, and if they do identify it, it's often too late for the child to believe they have any value. Additionally, schools that are underfunded don't have nearly enough social-emotional support. Children with learning differences need this support to process their experience and to regain belief in themselves.
I was a teacher in a poorly-funded majority minority school with great teachers and school staff.The problem was there was ONE social worker for the entire school of over 800 kids. The problem was there was ONE school counselor for over 800 kids. The problem was that there were THREE on-campus security guards/officers. In well-funded suburban schools there is often a social worker AND a counselor per grade. There are more restorative solutions to behaviors and more frequent testing for learning differences. This isn't to say they run perfectly, but a ratio of 2:80 is vastly different than 2:800.
These few numbers indicate that discipline seems to be the default option in poorly funded majority minority schools. This isn't to say schools want to discipline but that it's the easier option than expensive testing and detailed IEPs. When kids struggled, if the social worker or school counselor were busy, students were put into In School Suspension (ISS). Even if they're not suspended, the fact that they are asked to wait in ISS sends a message to them that they've done something very wrong. Whether or not they really have been suspended, in this instance, when the behaviors that existed were often due to lack of basic needs being met, fear of going home, or undiscovered learning differences that made classwork difficult, students begin seeing themselves as 'bad' and 'incapable' when they need to be feeling supported and valued.
So, what's the solution??
As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discussed: more schools need to be focused on student needs: academic supports, mental health, physical health, and community support. Many school systems have begun to break ties with their local Police Departments. This is a great first step.
We need to push for transferring the funding from Police and security to better neuropsychological testing as well as social workers and mental health professionals.
We need to urge our Councilmen and women to push for these changes.
We need to write to our Governors, Mayors and city leaders to propose bills and sign laws into place that give children in poorly funded schools a truly equal education. An equal education means equal access to neuropsychological testing, academic supports, and mental health services.
We need to educate others: teachers, parents, children, about what can be and encourage others to push for changes within their districts as well.
We need to demand change for our children, for their futures, and for the future of our country