I remember that for seven years, I went to schools in a typical high performing school district. These schools were filled with resources, great teachers, and limitless extracurricular activities. A student in my district could enjoy so many luxuries, but not every student could. There were so many privileges that remained out of reach for a low income student.

I was one of the few students at my school that were in the lower class. I was the kid who got called into the counselor’s office every winter to be given free ham (while it was weird, it was definitely appreciated). When my school offered the chance to learn how to play a variety of instruments, I was barely able to take advantage of the opportunity. An instrument is insanely expensive, even when renting it, so it was such a large sacrifice for my parents to let me explore my musical interests. My school offered high achieving students the ability to start taking the SAT or ACT in 7th grade, which is such a huge boost in such an important test. However, I still needed to pay $25 after the fee waiver. To other families, it was such a small expense, but for me, it almost stopped me from taking the exam. Standardized tests are such important parts of a student's college process, but all of them come with huge price tags in the eyes of poorer students. While some have waivers, the price of tests can become overwhelming even after the reductions. Students that want to be competitive for colleges and possibly save some money on credits may take four AP exams or more a year. At $30 per exam, ambitious students might not be able to pay the price. Then, we have extracurricular activities. What stopped me from joining the various options wasn’t the cost of participation, which definitely hurt for sports. It was the lack of transportation. One of the memories I have is struggling to get to class performances and sometimes being one of the few children there without a parent watching on. They had to work and I accepted that. So of course, my parents couldn’t pick me up every time I wanted to stay after school. Extracurricular activities are so important not only for students to appeal to colleges, but to express themselves. As you grow older, the disadvantages become more apparent and I think it might have wrecked me to see how unfair the situation is if I stayed in my district.

However, I switched to a completely different school district for the last five years before moving on to my higher education. This school district was grossly underfunded and had a dangerous amount of under-performing students. Unlike my old school where 99% of the technology was functional, my new school always has computers, SMART Boards, servers and printers in need of a fifth repair. The textbooks were always outdated and overused. However, one thing that really struck me was the foundation of the students’ math skills. The way students would be chosen for advancement in math wasn’t a test, but a recommendation from a teacher that could be reliant on personality rather than ability. Students moved to classes that they were unprepared for and were consequently set up for failure. You can tell that something is wrong in the classroom when many students struggle to place into calculus for college. While the schools in this district were just a bit more low income friendly (more buses, instruments available), many drawbacks remained.

So what is the main difference between the districts? Location.

My first school district was located in a suburban area with nice, middle class houses throughout the city. The other was in New Brunswick. It is as urban as they come, but it had many low income families living there. Many school districts receive funding through the city's’ property taxes, which means schools in more affluent areas receive more funding. This leaves low income students and minority students screwed over by something beyond their control.

As the country moves forward, people need to become aware that we need to put everyone on a level playing field. Public education quality is not the same throughout the country. There are so many other cities like New Brunswick that need to allow students to reach their full potential. And you have many cities, like the one my old school was in, that need to find ways to help all students, not just the affluent ones. Education equality should be a hot issue, but the only way to bring awareness is by spreading the word.