Editorial: Nyack's Equity Training Needs to Go Further

Imagine this: A large tree falls and blocks a local road. A driver crashes into it and becomes paralyzed, so an ambulance arrives to help. However, the municipality does nothing to address the tree in the road. The next driver along this road crashes into the tree and, likewise, is seriously injured. Again, an ambulance comes but nobody removes the tree. Driver after driver crashes into the tree.

Such is the problem with Nyack’s equity efforts. Nyack High School’s “fallen tree” is the opportunity and access gap, which describes the inability of Black and Latinx students to access the resources necessary for high academic achievement. Despite equal levels of intelligence, Black and Latinx students are less likely to take AP and Honors classes, which puts them at a disadvantage in the college process. They are, in essence, paralyzed like the driver above: They are closed off to opportunities like selective colleges, internships, and job opportunities because they couldn’t access higher level classes. 

The ambulance, here, is Nyack’s recent equity training program for the sophomore class. It sought to educate students on the origins of racism, its lasting effects on education, and the steps we can take to overcome it. This is a fantastic step towards helping the students who have already been affected by the opportunity gap, but it does nothing to address the root of the problem. 

In our country, there exists a racial wealth gap due to fewer economic opportunities for people of color. As a result, many students don’t have access to support from expensive preschools and tutors, or from parents, who may have to work many hours at multiple jobs. A gap then emerges between students who have access to this support and those who do not. 

This gap is evident as early as kindergarten. A study from researchers at Stanford University found that students from middle and upper class families have 30 million more words in their vocabulary before elementary school. This allows them to better articulate their academic needs and consume information more efficiently. They have a better foundation for learning. 

Consequently, an analysis from the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School “illustrates how closely race, income and academic performance are tied in [New York City]. Almost all students in the study with estimated household incomes below $30,000 were black or Hispanic, while students with household incomes above $80,000 were predominantly white. And the poorer students were, the lower they tended to score on the test, even when they went to the same school as wealthier children.”