LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Good teachers, competitive schools, high quality education. Three things on any parents wishlist! But, does every family have the same access?
A study by Zillow shows families living in lower-income neighborhoods feel they don't have access to high quality education... while those in top-tier neighborhoods say they do have access.
Local educators are trying to Raise The Bar by closing this gap.
If you are a parent, you know how much thought you put into where you are going to live. Quality of life, and quality of education for your kids- are usually top of mind. When it comes to equal opportunities- Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at Applied Analysis says southern Nevada isn't perfect-- but, it has made great strides. He says, "are we getting better yeah, are we continuing to get better, yes... I would like to see more of that continue to happen."
Aguero says the school district has created a lot of additional programs targeted toward kids that need extra assistance. In fact, the Clark County School District Superintendent has "equity" as part of his 5-year plan.
Jesus Jara says, "No matter where you live you are entitled to a high rigorous instruction in our schools."
Jara said some kids cost us more to educate and wants funding to reflect that. Dr. Nancy Brune of the Guinn Center, a nonprofit, independent policy research center, recently talked to us about this. Brune says, "We are realizing the kid who is an English language learner may require more instructional resources than someone who has been living in the suburbs for 20 years or kids living in poverty need more resources."
Jara also says, "You really look at some of the communities that cost more money that we have to invest because we have to get them to the finish line." He adds, "Everybody has to get to home plate. Some kids start on third base, some start on first base and you know what everyone has to get to home plate."
Jeremy Aguero also points out that we have to pay attention to our economic recovery too. Aguero says, "I think when we think about the schools and the way that they are structured and the challenges we have and look at some of the neighborhoods that are in our community and we realize that while our economy is doing better - it's not doing better for everybody, and the economic recovery has been asymmetrical."
The Zillow Housing Aspirations Report shows in Las Vegas and Tampa, Florida -- less than 50 percent of the parents expressed satisfaction with their educational access.
There's a lot of information in the report, you can see the entire report here.
