<p>Of course xiggi is describing the situation in California where our public schools are ranked 44th in the nation for funding, and most homeowners put real property tax protection above the interest of children. The state where the Governor reduced car taxes ( so people could afford to add that dvd in the back seat) while he borrowed $2 billion from the education budget. This year he is going back on his word while he continues to underfund education below the required by prop 98 .</p>
<p>Every child in our country deserves a great education not just the ones who live in wealthy districts or whose families can afford private schools. When a college like Mt. Holyoke can find a way around the built in biases that traditionally keep the working poor down.</p>
<p>I attended a mock trial award ceremony and the winning team from a wealthy school, stood on the stage with an attorney advisor behind every member of the team. The third place team was from an inner city school that had one attorney advisor and no faculty advisor (the kids had organized their own team.) There was no question in most of our minds which team was most impressive, even though their ecs might not reflect all that they had overcome and accomplished. It is the same when people try to compare the SAT scores of a student who had special preparation and took the test several times to get a good score, vs. the kid who is the first in the family to take the test and has little preparation going in. </p>
<p>Bravo Mt. Holyoak…lets even the playing field.</p>