The Elephant in the Room: Poverty, Capacity and Urban School Reform

Public Schools in the United States have experienced over fifty years of failed school reforms designed to improve struggling schools. In 2011, there were a reported 44,000 schools that were failing in the United States. Reform initiatives have grown from stand alone programs to coordinated programs designed to meet the many needs of students. As we zealously embrace this most current wave of school reforms, with its aggressive “no holds barred,” terms, billions of dollars in federal funding, threats of sanctions, school closures and the dismissal of both teachers and Principals whom are deemed ineffective, will the obvious barriers to success be publicly acknowledged and solutions vigorously demanded? The failure of our society to acknowledge the impact that poverty has on school success can no longer be ignored. Education's number one nemesis is poverty. Until issues surrounding race, poverty and inequities in education are part of the school reform narrative no REAL success will be realized.