Individual Field Research: Rural, Suburban, and Urban Educational Systems

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The rural poverty topic that my group chose to address is a comparison between public education systems located in urban, suburban, and rural counties within the state of Georgia. The counties selected to research are Fulton, Cobb, and Clarke. The purpose of the project is to determine how location, demographics, and legislation affect individual educational resources, experiences, and outcomes for children of low income families. Education is a topic in which there are so many contributing factors and variables that narrowing the field of research is difficult. To begin, demographics of each individual county are essential for understanding the student population from raw data. Statistics such as population, average annual salary, per child expenditures, and financial budgets add some perspective of what counties have in terms of financial resources. Another critical consideration is the proportion of minority students. Non English speaking students and special education require a higher degree of resources and more financial commitment from educational systems. Schools with high minority populations also have lower overall parental incomes which translate into increases in free and reduced lunch and breakfast. Food insecurity, family stressors, unsafe environments, and the lack of support systems are fundamental contributors to children’s educational deficits. Other important factors to consider are the availability of parental involvement, extracurricular activities, and local, state, and federal programs and legislation. In visiting the schools, the focus was on evaluating the individual school facilities and the area in which they are located. I visited Cobb County Title I schools located in Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgi... ... middle of paper ... ...cts in these areas were unusually well-maintained. Another curious observation is the fact that laundry hanging on the line and other signs of occupancy were apparent, yet there were no children outside playing on a stunningly beautiful Saturday at noontime. On this particular day, there was an event at the University which brought a great deal of alumni and families to the campus. Interestingly, there were little to no minorities present beyond college age students when the public school system in the area is 90 percent minority children. The residents are nowhere to be seen. The entire scenario is enough to offer some serious concern about the politics of the area. More research is needed to fully interpret the information, and I will look forward to learning more about the educational system in rural Clarke County, urban Fulton County, and suburban Cobb County.

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