Learning barriers are bigger than a zip code

Judy Wadsworth, Guest Essayist | Rochester

Comparisons are often made between students attending Rochester schools with those attending affluent suburban schools.

Some say that if Rochester schools functioned like Pittsford schools, for instance, learning results would improve. The reasons for the difference in results, however, are largely beyond the resources of the Rochester school district to solve by itself.

In the Pittsford district, most families have cars – to get to work and to educational and social events. In the Rochester district, many families do not own cars or have access to public transportation.

In the Pittsford district, most parents have steady jobs with salaries that support nutritious meals and secure, permanent lodging. In the Rochester district, many parents do not have steady jobs, or have several low-paying jobs that interfere with parenting and communicating with schools; and in many instances result in the inability to pay rent.

In the Pittsford district, children live in safe neighborhoods. In the Rochester district, many children do not.

In the Pittsford district, children attend neighborhood schools that serve as community hubs. In the Rochester district, many children are bused out of their neighborhoods so parents are forced to travel farther to participate in their children’s school events.

If Pittsford students had to move several times a year because their families couldn’t pay the rent...

If Pittsford parents had to work multiple jobs so they couldn’t attend school events ...

If Pittsford parents couldn’t get to jobs or access needed social services because of a lack of transportation ...

If Pittsford neighborhoods were crime-ridden and unsafe...

Then Pittsford student learning results would likely be more like those of Rochester students.

Research has shown that students thrive better when their families are able to provide them with a loving, safe, dependable, enriching environment.

Rochester schools house many excellent educational programs, and RCSD professionals for the most part are doing their best to serve a population with crushing economic and social disadvantages. Real change in learning outcomes is unlikely until the economic and social issues that Rochester’s children endure are resolved.And while city schools more and more provide needed social and medical and safety services, offering these services means less resources to spend on libraries, arts, and sports.

If the community really wants to help its RCSD students learn, it needs to focus its resources on ensuring that family adults can travel to jobs, that families have ready access to needed social and medical services, that affordable and accessible daycare is available, that families don’t have to face the maiming or murder of family members, and that families can live in safety free from chemical contamination.

This lasting solution will take time and energy, dedicated resources, and a willingness of those in power to involve those without power in developing effective solutions.

Judy Wadsworth is a retired teacher, school board member, and school board association administrator.