OPINION: Why are schools that predominately serve black and brown students consistently underfunded?

‘Closing achievement gaps requires an approach based on the principles of democracy and equity’

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Over my 25 years as an educator, I have worked as a teacher and principal, and I have also worked in philanthropy. I have seen how our nation’s public education system is not serving its students equitably, especially students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

As a philanthropic funder, I traveled the country supporting schools, districts and communities, but no matter where I visited, there was one consistent storyline: Schools that predominantly served black and brown students seemed to have the least resources and were the most underfunded.