Reply to Who said there isn't a North-South divide?

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Reply to "Who said there isn't a North-South divide?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It isn't just instruction, as noted above those kids don't have access to the same PTA and extras that wealthier schools do.

Moreover, even if you look at scores for "white" kids, which is really just a bad proxy for "non-disadvantaged," those scores are generally lower as well. So, it isn't just the English learners who are not achieving equal results.[/quote]

Seriously?  What's the budget of the average Northside elementary school?  $100k/year?  While they do some nice enrichment activities and maybe partially fund an assistant, it can't make up that much of a difference.
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Your comment comes off as coming from the perspective of someone who thinks 100K isn't all that grand and who is at a school with one of those budgets and as having absolutely no experience, familiarity, or understanding of a Title I school experience with PTA resources less than $40K, less than $20K, less than $10K.  For starters:

More resources for classrooms - for additional/supplemental materials, classroom libraries, PE equipment, art supplies, etc.
More training for teachers
More, and better quality equipment
more, higher quality, broader variety enrichment opportunities
private music lessons (not a PTA budget - though perhaps it could be for students who can't afford them; but an example of opportunities the families' wealth provides and demonstrative of some of the differences impacting the school)
better quality musical instruments - ones that aren't in constant need of repair and taking away from instruction time, better quality and playability 
ability to fill-in where the parents have deemed APS to have fallen short:  like purchasing stage lights or $40K for shade covers for playgrounds, smartboards or upgraded smartboards while other schools were still waiting for initial smartboards (in the past)
More resources to pay for low-income students' participation in field trips and enrichment activities and therefore access to those things by more students
Mini-grants for teachers
Funding special academic and/or community service projects and initiatives
All the spillover effects on staff morale, school pride, and overall performance

Perhaps folks from schools with those $100K budgets can offer other things they do with that money - and folks from schools on the other end of the spectrum can indicate how similar it is for their students.

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