One of the most popular and controversial topics in education is the use of public school rankings. Generally speaking, parents love them and teachers hate them. Makes sense. Teachers are judged, criticized, and sometimes rewarded or punished on the basis of public school rankings. For those teachers already in challenging, inner-city environments, public schools rankings tend to offer little but added stress.

Parents, on the other hand, see public school rankings as a concrete way to judge and evaluate potential schools and current teachers. For parents moving to a new area, public school rankings are an anchor to reality; a way to make the difficult decision of where to live or not live. But the issue of public school rankings really goes deeper. I think it lies in the inherent mistrust between parents in low income areas and school systems in general.

Public School Rankings in the Inner-City

Let's face it, affluent families rarely have to worry about the schools their children attend. I know that even upper middle class families can't always afford private schools, but they tend to live in areas where the public schools excel. Affluent and educated parents help to create better schools, so they are less likely to be involved in schools affected by the dismal low public school rankings that the majority of inner city schools struggle with.

What's different in an inner city school? Of course, the majority of inner-city residents live there because they don't have the education and money to be able to choose to live somewhere else. Yes, there are exceptions, but I never met anyone who voluntarily lived in the projects when I taught at a project based inner-city school. What I did run into were a lot of parents who were uncomfortable, disdainful, and mistrusting of teachers and schools in general.

How to Raise Public School Rankings in Inner-City Schools

Some of the stereotypes of inner-city life are sadly based in reality. These kids are more likely to have parents who are in prison, use drugs, or are unable to be actively involved parents. If we really want to start raising public school rankings in the inner-city, we need to start with the parents. There are a lot of hard working, but poorly educated parents who truly want their children to succeed in school. Working two job, being financially strapped, and not having the academic background to help their children succeed are some of the most common struggles for this population of parents.

By offering parent education programs to these people in our inner-city, we can take the first important step to raising public school rankings where they are needed most. Classes on finances, reading to your child, or basic parenting classes can all have a real impact on public school rankings. Even if no one under 18 is in the room.

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