It is also true that, in some cultures, education is valued more than in others. "'If you threw us all into some different place, some ugly land, and put white children in this building in our place, this school would start to shine. No question. The parents would say: 'This building sucks. It's ugly. Fix it up.' They'd fix it fast - no question.'" (Kozol, 111) While this African-American New York City student's opinion is loaded with sarcasm, she has a point. Because of the fact that school districts have a high level of independence from other school districts, each has the power to decide what's important. "...Communities that demand high educational standards have schools that reflect them, communities that care about football get football and communities too careworn or hapless to make demands at all get very little, unless they are lucky." (Traub, 48) While this statement implies that all districts that have poor schools don't care, it simply isn't true. Many communities simply don't have the resources or the opportunities to aid the educational system the way others do.

Although America is touted to be a land of equality, its school system is a far cry from the impartiality that we desire from it. This is especially true within the cultural diversity that makes up Westchester County. Within dozens of miles of each other, the schools in Westchester County vary from the elite to the pitiable. As we watch the children of minorities grow into adulthood, they will become the future of America. But, if they don't receive the education they need now, how will they care for themselves, not to mention their children? America is hurting itself by putting its own children down, sealing their fate of a vacuous life of mediocrity.

Westchester County has tremendous differences in the spending of schools on their children. "The lowest-spending schools in Westchester...serve the suburb of Mount Vernon, where three quarters of the children in the public schools are black." (Kozol, 120) Consequently, Mount Vernon, which spends $6,400 per pupil per year, also had the worst scores in Westchester; 19% of Mount Vernon eighth graders met New York State English standards and 12% met state math standards. (Barbanel, 9) This is in comparison to one of the most affluent and wealthy communities in Westchester county: Bronxville. Located just north of the Bronx, this predominantly white and wealthy community spends in excess of $10,000 per pupil per year. (Kozol, 120) This enables them to hire superior teachers and spend more on such technology advances and educational resources. As a result, their students perform markedly better than those of Mount Vernon and place them as one of the best public schools in New York State. In fact, 97% of Bronxville students met New York State's eighth grade English standard and 94% met the state's math standard. Bronxville also out preformed Mount Vernon in drop out rate (zero percent to 4.9%). Additionally, the graduating class of 2001 had to score a 65 or higher on the English and math Regents in order to achieve a New York State high school diploma. Otherwise, students would receive a "local" diploma. In order to achieve a local diploma, students must achieve a 55 or higher on both the English and math Regents. In Bronxville, 100% of seniors met requirements to receive a Regents diploma. However, in Mount Vernon, only 90% reached local proficiency and only 79% reached Regents level in English. In math, only 77% reached a grade of 55 or higher on the Regents and only 67% reached a 65 or higher. (Barbanel, 4) These levels show the enormous gap between the standards of education at Bronxville High School and Mount Vernon High School.

One reason for that belief is the fact that, throughout primary and secondary school, African-Americans and Hispanics consistently score poorer on standardized tests than do whites and Asians. "The school-by-school report cards showed a wide tes

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mount Vernon, African-Americans Hispanics, Westchester County, Ross Siegel, District York, York City, Scarsdale York, African-American Hispanic, College Board, African-American Latino, mount vernon, westchester county, predominantly white, school districts, minority students, educational system, met york, white students, predominantly white school, english math, fourth grade, york eighth grade, eighth grade english, communities westchester county, whites met york,
Approximate Word count = 3083
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)