In Sociology 101, I first learned about the concept of educational inequality while watching the documentary Waiting for Superman, released in 2010. According to Educators 4 Social Change, educational inequality is defined as "the unequal distribution of academic resources, including school funding, experienced teachers, textbooks, and technology." All of my life, education has been super important to me because of the connections I formed and experiences I had, and I have been very privileged to have received a quality education. Yet, so many people do not get that opportunity because of educational inequality.
"The fate of our country won't be decided on a battlefield, it will be determined in a classroom."
During the summer months of June and July in 2021, I completed a DEIA internship program at the Arras Foundation. Based in Lancaster, South Carolina, the Arras Foundation is a non-profit organization “established to enhance the health and wellness of all residents of Fort Lawn, Great Falls, and Lancaster County.” This program, the Summer 2021 Virtual Internship Experience, is dedicated to providing a “meaningful & unique shared-learning experience that enables interns to work collaboratively with local communities to focus on and research topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA).” During this internship, I attended learning sessions led by community leaders and USC Lancaster faculty. These virtual sessions held on Zoom allowed my fellow interns and I to learn about DEIA topics and issues in the context of our own community and beyond. In addition, I also completed an individual research project, which I was beyond excited to do because I could further my passion for education by examining the inequalities existing within my local high schools.
On June 14th, I created the Google Doc that would become home to my research. On July 23rd, I made the final edit to my Google Slides that I would use to present to my peers and local community leaders. My research project was on the following: “Current Local Support for FAFSA Filing in Chester and Lancaster Counties and Practices to Increase FAFSA Submissions.” To go along with the Arras Foundation's footprint, I focused on the Lancaster and Chester County School Districts (LCSD and CCSD). I surveyed the current support available to help LCSD and CCSD students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and this mainly consisted of college advisors through the Furman University’s College Advising Corps program and the high school counseling departments. However, I found there were many inconsistencies in the availability, quality, and accessibility of FAFSA resources available on each school’s website. Lastly, I identified three practices that could be implemented to increase FAFSA submissions: (1) creating a centralized web page for FAFSA information on each school district’s websites; (2) holding frequent and regular virtual FAFSA nights; and (3) offering one-on-one appointments to students, parents, and guardians.
Over the course of the summer, I was also serving as a Peer Advisor at USC Lancaster’s Orientations. Each session, I would advise several students in my group on how to construct their schedule, what classes they need to take, and more. At the end of the day during the Resource Fair, I would talk to Bridgett Plexico, the Internship Coordinator at USCL, and discuss my project and the issues she saw working at Lancaster High School. While I enjoyed the experience of advising students, I can’t help but think now about the students who don’t have the privilege of attending higher education because of educational inequalities experienced in their K-12 education.
During this research project, I learned about the inconsistencies existing within my own community. Yet, my drive to learn more about educational inequality did not end there. For my Capstone class, I am addressing this local problem even more, in a broader sense. Instead of focusing only on FAFSA resources, my capstone project encompasses the lack of college-going culture in LCSD. After writing a 35-page paper, I realized the complex expanse and depth of educational inequality and how I was only scratching the surface through these two research projects. This led me to my first key insight, complex problems require complex solutions. Educational inequality is a complex problem that will require a complex, multi-prong solution to address it.
"The fate of our country won't be decided on a battlefield, it will be determined in a classroom."
During the summer months of June and July in 2021, I completed a DEIA internship program at the Arras Foundation. Based in Lancaster, South Carolina, the Arras Foundation is a non-profit organization “established to enhance the health and wellness of all residents of Fort Lawn, Great Falls, and Lancaster County.” This program, the Summer 2021 Virtual Internship Experience, is dedicated to providing a “meaningful & unique shared-learning experience that enables interns to work collaboratively with local communities to focus on and research topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA).” During this internship, I attended learning sessions led by community leaders and USC Lancaster faculty. These virtual sessions held on Zoom allowed my fellow interns and I to learn about DEIA topics and issues in the context of our own community and beyond. In addition, I also completed an individual research project, which I was beyond excited to do because I could further my passion for education by examining the inequalities existing within my local high schools.
On June 14th, I created the Google Doc that would become home to my research. On July 23rd, I made the final edit to my Google Slides that I would use to present to my peers and local community leaders. My research project was on the following: “Current Local Support for FAFSA Filing in Chester and Lancaster Counties and Practices to Increase FAFSA Submissions.” To go along with the Arras Foundation's footprint, I focused on the Lancaster and Chester County School Districts (LCSD and CCSD). I surveyed the current support available to help LCSD and CCSD students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and this mainly consisted of college advisors through the Furman University’s College Advising Corps program and the high school counseling departments. However, I found there were many inconsistencies in the availability, quality, and accessibility of FAFSA resources available on each school’s website. Lastly, I identified three practices that could be implemented to increase FAFSA submissions: (1) creating a centralized web page for FAFSA information on each school district’s websites; (2) holding frequent and regular virtual FAFSA nights; and (3) offering one-on-one appointments to students, parents, and guardians.
Over the course of the summer, I was also serving as a Peer Advisor at USC Lancaster’s Orientations. Each session, I would advise several students in my group on how to construct their schedule, what classes they need to take, and more. At the end of the day during the Resource Fair, I would talk to Bridgett Plexico, the Internship Coordinator at USCL, and discuss my project and the issues she saw working at Lancaster High School. While I enjoyed the experience of advising students, I can’t help but think now about the students who don’t have the privilege of attending higher education because of educational inequalities experienced in their K-12 education.
During this research project, I learned about the inconsistencies existing within my own community. Yet, my drive to learn more about educational inequality did not end there. For my Capstone class, I am addressing this local problem even more, in a broader sense. Instead of focusing only on FAFSA resources, my capstone project encompasses the lack of college-going culture in LCSD. After writing a 35-page paper, I realized the complex expanse and depth of educational inequality and how I was only scratching the surface through these two research projects. This led me to my first key insight, complex problems require complex solutions. Educational inequality is a complex problem that will require a complex, multi-prong solution to address it.
Works Cited
“Teaching About Educational Inequality.” Educators 4 Social Change, https://educators4sc.org/topic-guides/teaching-about-educational-inequality/.
“Teaching About Educational Inequality.” Educators 4 Social Change, https://educators4sc.org/topic-guides/teaching-about-educational-inequality/.
Artifacts
Capstone Research Paper | |
File Size: | 199 kb |
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Internship Research Paper | |
File Size: | 71 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Internship Research Presentation | |
File Size: | 1414 kb |
File Type: |