Educational Improvements

 Disparities in healthcare have been discussed on this blog, but these disparities have also appeared in the educational system. This post will describe three interventions that have been put in place to address these disparities in the U.S. educational system. 

Teach for America 

    Teach for America is a non-profit that aims to provide a better education to students in inner city schools. They recruit recent graduates from any academic major who want to teach in inner city schools or low-income communities. The application process is rigorous, and one must go through a six-week training period. Once TFA training is complete, the new members, called TFS Corp members, will have a two-year commitment to a teaching post.  Despite the organization's strict application and training process, a concern that is often brought up is that Corp members do not have a degree or training in the field of education prior to their placements. Another criticism is that the students do not have consistency if Corp members leave, since many use TFA as an opportunity or steppingstone to other endeavors. 

No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top

    The No Child Left (NCL B) Behind program was started during the George W. Bush administration. It aimed to use standardized test scores as a measure for determining how much funding schools will receive. The Obama administration replaced NCLB with Race to the Top which has curriculum standard differences, but still has the standardized testing component present in NCLB. 

Sources: Rose, P. R. (2013). Cultural competency for the Health Professional. Jones & Bartlett Learning.