Last week, I heard word that PSU rejected me. They could only accept 200 candidates this year. I know going to PSU is cheaper. But I do want to go into an ed program that has smaller cohorts (group) with supportive, individualized attention from the professors.
Yesterday, I mailed off my Marylhurst application. Here is the answer to that question for the essay:
What are the most important issues facing education/teachers and/or students?
The most important issue currently facing K-12 education in Oregon is budget cuts which impact many areas affecting schools, teachers and students. Based on Portland Public School district website, the PPS has approximately 47,000 students and 85 schools under their care. PPS has only 16% of the General Fund to cover operational expenses like maintaining safe, warm and sound school buildings. They made tough decisions in cutting cost. For example, PPS closed a dozen schools the last 10 years in which the surrounding schools have higher enrollment, and thus are able to better provide a full program. However, PPS district cannot efficiently support the 47,000 students, schools and staff when the state of Oregon keeps cutting the budget. Governor Kitzhaber proposed about $5.6 billion dollars for the 2011-13 which will be a shortfall of $34.8 million dollars. This means that PPS is affected by losing more than 400 teachers or 800 paraeducators/EAs or even more than a month of schooling. I am aware that many PPS buildings need upgrading, rebuilding and remodeling since they are at least 50 years old. There are even a few schools that need new buildings such as Jefferson High School and Marysville Elementary School. For example, one great need for Capitol Hill School is new water pipes. Currently, one wing of the school has issues with the restrooms where the toilet floods. In addition, the proposed cut will also reduce or eliminate many services and resources to students and families.
Another important issue facing PPS teachers are larger class sizes. As mentioned previously, PPS will lose more than 400 teachers, consequently creating larger class sizes. Research has shown that when there are too many students in elementary classrooms, some students will be left behind. The teachers won’t get as much time with individual students. For example, during my kindergarten year at Woodstock Elementary, I had 27 other classmates. As a result, I did not have the individualized attention of my teacher. On the positive side, we were lucky to have an amazing educational assistant whom I remembered as well as had a connection with her. However, many large sized elementary classrooms will get an educational assistant. The PPS website reported that when losing one teacher, there will be a loss of two paraeducators, or educational assistants.
Finally, the third most important issue facing minority students is the achievement gaps, especially the racial gap. The racial gap is the student achievement between Whites and People of Color. It has been argued that the economic status of students’ families affect how students perform. Furthermore, the University of California (1998) and the College Board did a study of average SAT scores which are divided with family income and race/ethnicity. It is true income can affect a student’s performance in school, but income does not “explain the racial achievement gap, which persists irrespective of income level” (Singleton & Linton, Courageous Conversations About Race). The study mentioned previously shows that at every income level, students of Color are outperformed by White students. I noticed that even the low-income White students still outperformed middle class Black and Hispanic students. With attention to the Black students, even at an income over $60,000, they still underperformed the White students who were at an income below $20,000.
In conclusion, I feel that budget cuts, large class size, and the racial gap are important issues facing education today.
All I have to concentrate on right now is to pass the CBEST writing section and apply to many scholarships that I can. Today I submitted in the "Best Facial 3" contest so please vote at http://www.brickfish.com/smoy. The grand scholarship prize is $4,000.
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