Could you imagine picking up your son from school one day and for him to say, “Our school, Fort Miller, is ranked the lowest compared to all the other middle schools in Fresno?” I can. 

Unfortunately, this was my experience one day, and it was devastating. The worst scenario was being able to explain to my son that his school was ranked the lowest because, unfortunately, it’s in an impoverished part of town. 

Living in a poor part of town means the resources that the school receives don’t compare to the resources other schools get. 

As I’ve learned in my sociology class, we are prone to live this way because the system is structured this way.

I was assigned to read an article titled “The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America: Case Study of Fresno, California” by Naomi Cytron. 

In her article Cytron mentions, “Generational cycles of poverty are perpetuated by the limited range of constructive education.” In other words, the generation of poverty cycles will continue because those schools in the poverty parts of town do not receive enough funding. 

They are limited in what they can provide; this leads to an unbalanced education between schools, and sadly, our kids are the ones being affected.

I propose, as parents, we do all that’s in our power to help our children succeed no matter where their school stands, and the only way to do so is by advocating on. Here lies the start.