It seems there are more organizations than ever before geared toward improving America’s education system compared to 20 years ago. However, even with the vast number of organizations trying to rectify the system, significant progress has not been achieved.
Organizations like Teach for America are increasing in quantity across the country, attempting to decrease the achievement gap seen in minority and disadvantaged communities across the nation.
However, even though some these organizations have received millions of dollars in funding and have served the nation for nearly 20 years, they continue to yield insignificant results, including TFA.
After a few years of efforts seeming to narrow the achievement gap, the gap increased again in the late ’80s, which started the rise of organizations like TFA.
While these organizations’ goals and initiatives are admirable, their results are marginal in the big picture.
According to the National School Public Relations Association, minority student achievement scores are lower today than 10 years ago, despite efforts from numerous organizations.
Founder and CEO of TFA, Wendy Kopp, addressed this issue at Eckstein Hall on Tuesday. She blamed the lack of progress on people’s unrealistic expectations that grand ideas would produce instant solutions.
Certainly, dramatic change does not occur overnight, but after 20 years, notable improvement should be evident.
When questioned about Milwaukee’s education future, Kopp replied that the future is bright in Milwaukee, and that we have the same building blocks as other troubled places, such as New Orleans, which have seen visible improvement during TFA’s presence.
However, Kopp failed to present specific, concrete suggestions to aid Milwaukee’s struggling education system.
Organizations like TFA continue to receive funding and expand their reach. However, a concrete consensus regarding the cause of America’s achievement gap remains as elusive as a concrete solution.
Many theories have been considered, varying from socioeconomic, cultural and family backgrounds to poorly funded schools and under-qualified teachers.
The cause of America’s achievement gap could be a combination of these factors, but the root of the problem has not been identified.
Perhaps all of these factors contribute, but each district may not have the same set of contributing factors.
Individual district circumstances are too unique to be lumped together in a one-size-fits-all solution. Kopp said when the government micromanages schools, laws are instituted that may not cater to a district’s individual, unique needs.
More power should be given to individual school systems, which would empower and motivate them to make changes that make sense for their community.
While their results may not be extensive, these organizations are initiating and inspiring others to get involved in fixing the education system.
TFA has its own method to fix the problem with the number of students it recruits.
According to its website, TFA recruits 8,000-plus graduate students each year out of 48,000 applicants, and places them in urban and rural areas across America to teach for two years. TFA now has more than 20,000 alumni working in communities to improve education systems in leadership positions, establishing a network of education activists.
However, more sustainable, dramatic results need to be achieved. More time should be invested in researching what is working and replicating their methods in hurting districts than trying to fix a broken system with a singular solution.