Schools in central Contra Costa County are struggling to keep students on track with assignments and grades. The challenges in the classroom are nothing new to Riverview Middle School teacher Cory Lynch-Grant, who has been working for 25 years across the state, most of that time in the Bay Area.
‘’The students deal with a lot of hardships especially while attending school, like completing assignments on time, self esteem, and simply paying attention,” Lynch-Grant said.
At Riverview in Bay Point — considered one of the lowest ranking schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, due to its poor state testing scores and proficiency metrics — the problems start with under-funded resources.
’’We have the same textbooks [as other schools], but our desks are worn, our faucets do not work properly, and our stage is almost unusable,’’ she said.
Living on the edge of the notoriously unaffordable Bay Area, many of Riverview’s students come from blue-collar immigrant backgrounds. According to the California Department of Education, Riverview’s Hispanic population represents about three-quarters of the student body, making learning in English an initial barrier.
Income disparity between schools in wealthier and poorer areas of the county means students at Riverview also lack basic support they need from staff and administrators to further their education, said Lynch-Grant.
“There seems to be difference between us and the ‘richer’ schools,” Lynch-Grant said.
“I had thought that by now I would not see differences between schools that serve low income communities and wealthier communities, [but] unfortunately, I do — buildings are up to date, and the school sites are cleaner. The wealthier schools just seem to have more than we do.”
Elsewhere in the district, similar problems persist.
At Mt. Diablo High School, also considered low ranking by the district, 9th grade teacher Alex Econome said students’ struggles are becoming a daily challenge to manage.
‘’Most of my students struggle with a lot of things,’’ Econome said. ‘’They struggle with knowing how to read — the majority of them are two or three grade levels behind from where they should be.”
In addition, he said, “They don’t have the tech for online course work, or the deep detail and explanatory coursework that would help especially when teaching English.’’
Like Riverview, many of Mt. Diablo High’s students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Consequently, the time they need to study and complete their coursework often competes with afterschool jobs, family caretaking, and household management.
A majority of the student population also live in areas with prominent gang activity, or elevated levels of crime. According to Neighborhoodscout.com, “Concord has a higher overall crime rate than the national average, approximately 34-35 total crimes per 1,000 residents.”
Yet students at Mt. Diablo aren’t the only ones struggling with regional challenges. According to cbsnews.com , “ The union is demanding a 12.5 percent raise for over 3 years”,”[ due to teachers feeling like they are being underpaid ]
Teachers in the district annually make around $81,000, according to Indeed.com. For instructors like Econome, that’s just not enough.
“We’re woefully undercompensated,” he said. “We should make over five figures at the starting pay in all but most rural areas. We’re so valuable to society, but we’re completely underpaid.’’