Attribution:

Joanie Wiersma is an instructional specialist for a K-8 public school in rural Northern Michigan. She
holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in elementary education, a Master of Education in K-12 reading, and is
currently pursuing an educational specialist in administration. Her career experiences include elementary
teacher, reading specialist and an assessment specialist for a university authorizer.
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The early principles of public education are rooted in the belief that all children have access to and
receive an education in order to strengthen our countrys workforce and inevitably our democracy. Early
advocates of public schools believed education would create an opportunity for success regardless of
one's socioeconomic status and in essence level the playing field between poor and non-poor members of
society. Unfortunately, over a century later, our countrys public schools as well as our society remain
largely economically segregated resulting in an achievement gap larger than any other subgroup (Coley &
Baker, 2013).

Michigan is no exception. With fifty one percent of students in public schools coming from low income
households Michigans educational snapshot appears grim and falls well below the national averages.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2017), students receiving free and reduced
lunch (an indicator of low-income), scored an average of 24.5 points lower on standardized tests than
students who were not eligible. Given the impact poverty has on academic achievement and outcomes,
educational policy ought to focus on methods to overcome these effects by going beyond recent school
reform methods that use standardized tests scores to induce incentives or sanctions. Instead, efforts
should be directed toward building the capacity of those with the greatest influence on student
achievement - the classroom teacher.

As I walk down the halls of a school that has a 98% free and reduced lunch rate, I observe a model of
teaching that mimics that of 40 years ago: teachers doing school, children sitting in desks, 5 day weeks,
attendance taken at 8:00 am, dismissal at 3:00, bells ringing. Many of the same routines and
infrastructure that existed years ago are still in place today. What has changed are the demographics of
the students sitting behind the desks. The dramatic increase in students from low-income households
should sound the alarm and cue a transformation in the approach to learning, a shift that moves educators
towards embracing the connection between student and adult actions and leaders that understand true
school reform takes place with an investment in people, specifically teachers.

Researchers like John Hattie in his 2009 book Visible Learning, addresses the importance of instructional
capacity on student achievement by showing that superior teaching has a greater effect on students
learning and achievement than the impact of poverty. If teachers indeed have the greatest influence on
student achievement, they deserve the opportunity to improvement their craft by working within an
infrastructure that supports and provides ongoing professional learning about the impacts of poverty on
student learning. Teachers from middle class households enter into schools that serve a majority of
students from low income households not having a clear understanding of poverty or the impact it has on
brain development.

Experts like Eric Jensen in his book Poor Students Rich Teaching, demonstrates brain based instructional
techniques and action plans for schools to implement that provide classroom teachers with the necessary
tools and resources to narrow the cognitive gap created by the stress of living in poverty. Neuroscience
revealed the plasticity of the brain allows for intellectual growth enabling teachers to increase the
cognitive capacity through demonstrating an achievement mindset and incorporating brain based
classroom strategies. However, for teachers and student to be successful it is critical that schools
acknowledge the urgency, confront the mindset of teachers towards poverty and provide ongoing job
embedded professional learning. Furthermore, teachers might begin to understand that classroom
instruction can contradict the impact that poverty has on academic achievement.

Ongoing investment in policy associated with early childhood education, at-risk school funding,
wraparound services and other compensatory initiatives, are indeed effective methods of reducing the
impact poverty has on student achievement. Investing in people, however, primarily teachers actually has
the greatest impact on reducing the impact poverty has on academic achievement.

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