Improving Education for Low-Income Students

The goal of our EnACT project is to improve education and increase the number of students that go on to higher education through tax distribution and educational programs. We are talking to tax consultants and working with PME, Exodus, Peer Tutors, and SEED. Working with pre-existing programs at IMSA will help inspire our program, ATM. ATM stands for Academic support, Tutoring resources, and Motivational programs. Our project is mainly focused on low-income families who get a lesser education because of the property tax that funds their school and the lack of motivation for higher education. America has an issue with the tax system effect on education. A significant portion of school money comes from property taxes. This method of school funding gives rise to a very apparent problem: properties that cost less pay less and properties that cost more pay more. This leads to certain areas being either very well funded or not funded at all. A way to solve this issue is to alter the distribution of property taxes. When the money paid by property taxes is distributed evenly throughout districts, it supports the quality education for lower-income areas, as opposed to one school getting more money than the rest. This would promote a more equitable education because schools in lower income areas would then be able to afford: updated textbooks, classroom supplies, and a better salary. The data we will be collecting will be both quantitative and qualitative to access the effectiveness of the ATM program and of the tax distributions. We plan to implement this program in low-income high schools and track the percent of students that go on to higher education before and after attending our program. The tax distribution will back the program with the resources needed to improve education and equity in the school system