Low Quality Education In Newark NJ
The state of New Jersey is well known for being a highly segregated place for education. There are two systems running parallel to each other that is deeply disturbing and can sober up anyone who believes that education is becoming a landmark in the state. In the first place is the predominantly-white population that goes to the best public schools and also has access to the best quality education in this area. There is hardly any issue of education in these communities and regions. However, we also have another side of the coin where the education system is near ruins and is providing lower than expected education system to the kids who are either poor, are children of color or those who are immigrants. Quite likely, this problem is being faced by the community of Newark NJ to a huge extent.
Almost 50% of black and 40% of Latino students are now studying in highly segregated schools where fewer than 10% of white students study. There are many reversed segregated schools as well where there are almost no black students or immigrant students whatsoever. The quality of education, therefore, can be considered to be very low in these segregated schools. There are not many of the children who go on to complete their high school education in order to pursue a college degree. As a result of this, they end up with low paying jobs and are even left unemployed which worsens the problems of this community. Newark is one of the communities in New Jersey that sees extreme levels of segregation where students usually belong to the low-income background (regardless of the racial background) which further diminishes their chance of success in education. Quite evidently, there are no policies as good as those being followed at the higher income schools in the suburban districts of the state.
These statistics have completely ruined the efforts of the state that are being directed to provide high-quality education to poor children, especially those of color in the lower income communities. An isolated schooling system is making things worse by the day. Schools, where children of multiple races study together, are known to perform better in all aspects (including the average performance of individual students) than these isolated schools that are doing nothing better than demolishing the prospects of the school education in communities like Newark. State takeover of schools in Newark is also not producing any good results as of now. The bad condition of education in Newark can be experienced by moving into the central office of the school district which looks no better than a ghost town, let down by huge staffing cuts.
To help improve the quality of education in Newark, you can volunteer your time or make a donation to the Urban League of Essex County.