August 28, 2024
Introduction and Key Findings
Advocates for the traditional, district-centric public school system in Arizona argue this model is the only way to fairly and equitably educate all students. A school in every neighborhood, with a guaranteed open seat for every student – without regard to race, income, or where they live. When these schools fail to achieve results, the result is always to decry the funding – there isn’t enough money, and just a little more will fix this problem. In 1980, the United States spent an average of $2,300 per public school student; today, we spend over $18,000[i]. Over that same time period, depending on the measure, educational outcomes have been flat – and since the pandemic, they’ve declined at their fastest pace on record[ii].
These same groups often lead arguments that alternative models – first Charter schools and open enrollment options, but more recently Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) and niche home- and micro-schools – threaten the fair and equitable model for the benefit of wealthy and/or white students. The existence of these alternatives is presented in a zero-sum context: funding and access for alternatives takes money from the traditional District public school.
But is it true? Do public schools serve all kids, especially minority and disadvantaged students? The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which traditional public schools meet the academic, safety, and supportive needs of Black, Brown, and special needs students. And the answer based on the experience of our families and the data from Arizona’s public schools we document here appears to be “no”. For example, one parent participant at a recent forum shared the following: “My child was kicked out of her traditional public school due to being a victim of bullying and defending herself due to zero tolerance.” Sadly, Arizona’s traditional public schools are struggling to create safe and supportive learning environments for Black, Brown, and special needs students; policies (like “zero tolerance”) intended to help often end up hurting. Data supports these stories, as indicated below:[iii]
- 5% of Arizona’s district public school students are black; half are boys.
- But Black students receive more than 10% of all suspensions; boy students receive over 70% of District public schools most aggressive disciplinary tools (suspensions and expulsions).
- Moreover, just 5 Arizona traditional public school districts account for 20% of all suspensions and expulsions in Arizona. These schools are disproportionately nonwhite and have students from lower-income families; these students need the most support
- Black and Brown students are significantly less likely to graduate/perform at grade level on assessments in comparison to their White peers.
- Empowerment Scholarship Accounts are serving a diverse group of Arizonans – including lower-income and nonwhite households outside of the traditional private school system. In recent years, small non-traditional campuses affiliated with Rev. Woods have served approximately 180 students in central Phoenix – 90% of them are nonwhite and 100% were ESA recipients. Most are lower-income, struggling with disciplinary issues, or behind in learning.
Often the conditions and treatment needed to successfully create safe and supportive learning environments for our students of color and special needs students require educators and parents to work closely together to not only implement policies, but to ensure educators know how to carry out those policies in a caring and nurturing manner. A parent of a special needs student stated her child was “shamed when she needed medical, academic, mental, physical and emotional supports”. Microschools and specialized alternative school offer these environments when the local traditional public school doesn’t.
If Arizona traditional public schools want to do better they must commit to creating safe and supportive learning environments for students of color and special needs students through:
- Anti-bullying policies and practices.
- Creating a sense of belonging for all students.
- Placing caring and nurturing adults in the learning environment.
- Removal of zero tolerance policies.
- Intentionally build trusted relationships with family members.
- Allowing students to visibly see parents/guardians working with their teacher to ensure their overall success.
- Expectations from their teachers are high, communicated, and demonstrated.
- Acknowledgement and validation of a student’s fears, traumas, need for safety, support, and unconditional acceptance by their teachers.
- Students of color and special needs students need a deep sense of knowing their teacher will not abandon them when they are having a difficult time academically, emotionally, physically and/or in their home life.
- Students of color and special needs students must be free to have a bad moment and not have that moment define who they are for the rest of their public school life.