The COVID-19 Pandemic: Socioeconomic Disparities in K-12 Education
The United States education system has been a long-standing point of socioeconomic disparity. Our country operates on a system in which more affluent neighborhoods and zip codes receive higher amounts of funding from the state and federal governments than those of disenfranchised communities. These socioeconomic divisions range from access to resources to the qualifications of instructors: creating long-standing inequities for children across the county. These issues were only exacerbated after the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to teach remotely.
Until only very recently in the 1960s did the United States adopt the integrated school system that is devoid of the segregation that was rampant across a nation once shielded behind the archaic guise of “Separate but Equal”. However, even with desegregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and other social justice reforms, there are grave inequalities that hamper the education and future of marginalized children. Communities with the majority of the population being people of color are statistically prone to having underfunded school districts and thus are less likely to have the infrastructure and resources that their more affluent counterparts receive. These underfunded school districts are also less likely to have teachers with masters and upper-level degrees, which has been touted as one of the most important signifiers in future student success (Darling-Hammond, Brookings, 1998).
These issues grew to extremes during the COVID-19 pandemic as schools were put under extreme pressure to take public health inequity and access to education into account. Schools across the country closed for in-person lessons in an attempt to “flatten the curve” and keep the health of children and the community safe. Flattening the curve is the idea that decreasing the prevalence of COVID-19 cases through the use of public health strategies like social distancing and wearing masks will ensure the healthcare system does not become overwhelmed causing unnecessary loss of life (Gavin, Michigan Health 2020).
This decision, while essential for public health, created a socioeconomic educational gap throughout schools and classrooms. Many schools were ill-prepared for this remote transition, and this was unevenly felt by marginalized communities. Remote learning necessitated children having working and reliable internet access, alongside a functioning device to allow them to attend class and regularly complete assignments. According to researchers at the Harvard Gazette, Black and Hispanic children were 1.3 to 1.4 times more likely to not have either of these requirements — putting them at a major disadvantage (Simon, The Harvard Gazette, 2021). This, coupled with the likelihood that families of color were more likely to continue in-person work, created an environment that made learning an improbable feat for many families. People of color were more likely to work blue-collar jobs like retail, food service, utilities, agriculture, and hospitality which were significantly more likely to continue with in-person responsibilities (Gould & Shierholz, EPI, 2020). These careers had very little opportunity to work from home compared with their white-collar counterparts and thus put these workers at an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure.
During this time, schools with primary students of color saw a drop in test scores due to a lack of internet connection, devices, and live teachers (Dorn., et al., McKinsey, 2020). These issues create major gaps in future student success; before the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown occurred, the number of black and Latinx students going to college was the highest it had ever been (Marcus, Wired, 2020). Unfortunately, once again, a lack of resources and socioeconomic disruptions put these groups of students at higher risk of dropping out and deciding not to pursue higher education.
Numerous organizations and agencies have realized these disproportionate issues and have tried to remedy them by pushing for more equal access to services. For example, The Emergency Broadband Benefit program allows for eligible low-income families to receive discounted monthly wifi; the program was set up in the aftermath of the pandemic to assist with remote work and school (FCC, 2021). There are greater issues brought up regarding the extreme lack of nationwide broadband access — especially in low-income and communities of color. Indigenous communities were particularly impacted by the move to remote work/learning, as many communities lacked the proper broadband infrastructure to receive working internet (Edgerton et al., Learning Policy Institute, 2021). The push for internet access to be deemed a necessity instead of luxury has been at an all-time high, and marginalized communities remain hopeful for future expansive legislative actions.
The issue of remote learning has also taken a large toll on parents and guardians. They are now faced with working full time from their homes, while simultaneously managing their children during school hours. Moreover, remote learning also meant that in-person working families had to find alternatives to school to care for their children during working hours. These work-life balances kept families teetering on the precipice of socioeconomic turmoil (Leonhardt, CNBC, 2020).
Families are now caught in a juggling act of health, time, and work issues — which puts extreme pressure on guardians as well as children: who no longer have the stability that once came with in-person schooling.
School closures have also created a nutritional crisis for low-income and families of color. Many eligible children across the country are given access to free school meals for breakfast and lunch. Remote learning has meant that students who would normally receive two free meals a day are left to go hungry without this social safety net (Turner, npr, 2020). As parents continue to return to work, they lack the time and/or resources to provide the well-balanced meals that are needed for child development and health. Low socioeconomic communities are most at risk of these challenges and mean it’s more likely for them to suffer dietary and nutritional issues which can have long-term negative health outcomes. Local programs were created to address this crisis as organizations rallied to dispense out school lunches to food-insecure individuals regardless of remote learning (Turner, npr, 2020).
Although the move to remote learning has been proven to be the most beneficial way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is not without its drawbacks. The brunt of the issues associated with the pandemic is disproportionately felt by marginalized communities: low-income and communities of color. The exacerbation of socioeconomic disparities created by the COVID-19 has and will continue to leave a mark on the American school system. The pandemic has been able to shed light on the disparities seen across the American school system, and without major legislation and organization, these inequalities will continue to snowball.
Fundamental changes must occur across the board to mend the inequities seen across the school system, in classrooms, and in students’ own homes.
