The Checkered Impact of US Compensatory Education Policies on Educational Inequality
Public Policy
Volume 7 | Issue II | June 2023
Sidwell Friends School ’24
Washington DC, USA
I have long been passionate about how public policy can effect social change in our communities. Through my work on political campaigns for local and national candidates, I became fascinated by how US education policies have evolved to address racial inequities. I decided to delve into this topic, specifically focusing on the reform efforts during the Civil Rights era, and wrote a research paper for my US history class in junior year. Due to the limits of time and length for the class paper, I could not dig into the topic as much as I would have liked. Deciding to submit the paper to The Schola gave me the opportunity to revise the essay, research new sources and incorporate the policy approaches to quantify racial achievement gaps. This process not only led to extending the length of my essay but also provided a more in-depth and holistic evaluation of the topic that drew out the evolving pedagogical viewpoints in education policy. My research on this paper and related political advocacy work has led to my interest in studying public policy and political science in college.