In elementary schools across the country, educators often meet face-to-face with underperforming students, unequipped with the resources to help them succeed. From language barriers to a lack of classroom supplies, students in certain areas struggle a bit more than others, suffering under the weight of an imbalanced funding system.

For the past two weeks, I attended Sewa AmeriCorps’ ASPIRE Summer Program, organized in the Newark school district. While volunteering with ASPIRE, I met a student who refused to write because he didn’t know how, falling behind in his grade level. As one of the many districts across the country dealing with lower test performance and attendance, the Newark school district has been struggling to keep up with its bright students, compromising students’ will to learn and their futures.

Oftentimes, unequal school funding stems from inconsistencies in local property taxes, leaving poorer areas, often predominantly immigrant districts, with less funding towards education. In turn, poorer districts maintain poorer schools, resulting in declining graduation rates and worse test scores. Moreover, these kids are significantly shaped by the distinctive influences in their lives, whether at home, on the playground, or in the classroom, all playing a role in their academic needs. Thousands of brilliant students, many from poorer neighborhoods, have unique educational struggles and face social injustice because they are denied access to the help that they need. This isn’t an easy fix, however, but acknowledgement is the first step. “Class size is, first of all, a concern, and more than that, the range of the [knowledge] level in the class is what is the bigger concern. It's really unfair for very high-performing kids and also extremely far behind kids,” says Sudha Prabhunandan, a program director at ASPIRE. “We bridge the gap by pulling one sector out, so that the teacher can focus on a smaller range, as opposed to a huge spectrum of performance levels in one class.”

It is our responsibility, as journalists, educators, politicians, and leaders, to provide these children with the tools to empower their own lives. These kids aren’t just our future; they are the present, and they possess the ability to shape the world into a place where they see themselves succeeding in an opportunity they very much deserve. Effective funding reforms are emerging across the country in hopes of supporting these underprivileged students, with programs investing in more qualified teachers and distributing more funds to areas of high poverty. “Participatory budgeting is such an impactful backdrop for service learning [and it involves] having focused populations present at the table because you recognize that they're often excluded from our decision-making spaces,” Isabel Luciano, a community leader in participatory budgeting, said at a Policy Cafe on policy changes in education and service-based learning hosted by Sewa back in August.

To combat this learning epidemic, ASPIRE has supported over 3500 students this past year and is building a strong foundation for youth success. “Underserved and underprivileged subconsciously translates to dumb. But, a lot of these students, especially in these schools [in the Newark area], have really bright minds, and I think what’s happening outside of their control is really affecting them and holding them back,” says Varun Damojipurapu, a high school volunteer at ASPIRE.