Across the country, America’s schools are not a priority. There is a disregard to schools, educators and children. Let’s look at the following as proof:
- Four public schools in Scranton, PA were closed last month because of hazardous asbestos and lead in pipes.
- The average teacher spends $500 on supplies. (In what other business, are employees expected to pay for supplies?) Source: Pew study
- There are 200,000 “temporary” portable classrooms. Many are not heated in Fall or Winter. There isn’t air conditioners in the Spring or Summer. Some lack toilets. ( How many businesses could or would operate under these conditions?) Source: Wikipedia
- Teachers have as many as 25 students in the space of a hotel room. Source: Randi Weingarten in the NY Times, 2/17/2020
- America’s public schools received a D+ from the American Society of Civil Engineers in their latest infrastructure report card. Source: ASCE
- As of 2010, the National Center for Educational Statistics estimated that there are almost 99,000 public schools in the country. In 1999, ( the most recent data available) the average public school was 42 years old, (built in 1957).
- About 28 percent of school districts have already achieved 1 Mbps per student, including 15 percent of the 1,000 largest districts in the country””leaving 72 percent of districts without sufficient internet speeds to make digital learning a central part of the curriculum.Source: Edsurge.com
- Nearly half of rural, single-school districts, which average about 200 students apiece, have already reached the 1 Mbps goal.. Source: Edsurge.com
Businesses depend on well-trained, highly qualified graduates. How can schools produce them under these conditions?