Is Money the Answer To Failing Urban Public Schools?

Gerry Garibaldi, a former Hollywood screenwriter and now an English teacher at an urban high school in Connecticut, authored an article in the local newspaper.  Garibaldi has witnessed the wealth of funding that is lavished upon low income population schools (Title I funding) which translates into books, modern tools, and facilities such as Smart Boards, Elmo document cameras, computerized libraries etc.  However, one problem money cannot solve in Garibaldi’s classroom is teen pregnancy.  In Connecticut unwed mothers are bestowed with many state and federal benefits–medical coverage when the mother is pregnant, medical coverage for the baby and mother after birth, child care, Section 8 housing, Nutrition Assistance Program, cash assistance, and a $35/hr. tutor before and after the baby is born.  These mothers often drop out of school reading on a 5th grade level yet more money is spent on these services, and the bureaucracy wonders why the system continues to fail. To read more of Garibaldi’s article visit: http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_1_teen-pregnancy.html