September 26, 2015
Dawson Matthews
502 E Boone Ave
Spokane, WA 99202
[email protected]
Catherine Lhamon
United States Secretary of Educational Civil Rights
400 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Catherine Lhamon,
My name is Dawson Matthews and I am a student at Gonzaga University studying engineering. I have had a great experience with public education, but I am learning that many kids are not so fortunate. I am a freshman from Alaska, and I recently became interested in our nation’s education system. I have been reading articles on issues in the public school entity. I was struck by a certain problem that I have not had much experience with and was hoping you could guide me into my place on the issue. The matter I wanted to discuss was segregation in public education. Living in Alaska I don’t get exposed to segregation as much as other areas in the country due to a lack of diversity.
This issue was introduced to me by a This American Life podcast called The Problem We All With. I was taken back by the problems in the Normandy School District. Education reporter, Nikole Hannah-Jones researched the integration program in the Normandy Schools. She found one thing that had actually worked to cut the achievement gap between black and white students by half. In the article, Nikole Hannah found that statistics showed the smallest gap was between 1971 and 1988, when integration was at its peak. She stated, “School integration, yes. Well, the data shows that kind of the start of real desegregation, the achievement gap between black and white students was about 40 points.” This is the 21st Century, we need to find a way to provide every child in the nation an opportunity to get a good education. The children now are going to be the next doctors, presidents and engineers, but it all begins with education. So my question to you is, how can we, as a nation, help integrate schools and provide equal opportunity for students of all colors and races?
I know that racism is deeply rooted in America and the problem I am addressing in education stems from this, but I ask for your support on this issue. I hope to get feedback from you so I can have a better idea of how I can do my part in solving this problem. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Dawson Matthews
Dawson Matthews
502 E Boone Ave
Spokane, WA 99202
[email protected]
Catherine Lhamon
United States Secretary of Educational Civil Rights
400 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Catherine Lhamon,
My name is Dawson Matthews and I am a student at Gonzaga University studying engineering. I have had a great experience with public education, but I am learning that many kids are not so fortunate. I am a freshman from Alaska, and I recently became interested in our nation’s education system. I have been reading articles on issues in the public school entity. I was struck by a certain problem that I have not had much experience with and was hoping you could guide me into my place on the issue. The matter I wanted to discuss was segregation in public education. Living in Alaska I don’t get exposed to segregation as much as other areas in the country due to a lack of diversity.
This issue was introduced to me by a This American Life podcast called The Problem We All With. I was taken back by the problems in the Normandy School District. Education reporter, Nikole Hannah-Jones researched the integration program in the Normandy Schools. She found one thing that had actually worked to cut the achievement gap between black and white students by half. In the article, Nikole Hannah found that statistics showed the smallest gap was between 1971 and 1988, when integration was at its peak. She stated, “School integration, yes. Well, the data shows that kind of the start of real desegregation, the achievement gap between black and white students was about 40 points.” This is the 21st Century, we need to find a way to provide every child in the nation an opportunity to get a good education. The children now are going to be the next doctors, presidents and engineers, but it all begins with education. So my question to you is, how can we, as a nation, help integrate schools and provide equal opportunity for students of all colors and races?
I know that racism is deeply rooted in America and the problem I am addressing in education stems from this, but I ask for your support on this issue. I hope to get feedback from you so I can have a better idea of how I can do my part in solving this problem. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Dawson Matthews