Hi everyone! My name is Maia Schulte and as many of you know I’ll be running for a U.S. House seat for central Florida. As a native Floridian myself, I’m dedicated to creating the change that will make the future of Florida bright for everyone who lives, studies or visits here. I’d like to talk today about an issue that I feel very deeply connected to. As a previous English teacher, mentor for high school students and English language assistant, the subject of Education is extremely close to my heart.
I currently work for the College of Education and recently had to opportunity to join our practicum students as they went for a tour through the Alachua County Public School System. We visited the Alachua County School District building as well as several public schools in the county. We were able to talk directly with principals and teachers about their struggles, concerns and difficulties working in this school district. As racial inequality continues to plague the United States of America today, through many facets of daily life, I strive to find ways to tackle these growing issues. The divide keeps entire races held back in a growing equality issues that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. As the issue continues to plague our great country, it seems to hit the hardest in the field of education, where once a student is at a disadvantage, it takes a gargantuan effort to bring them back up to speed.
With the underfunding of schools, greater teacher to student ratios, and decreases in teacher salaries it’s no wonder our education systems are failing students, especially when the majority of schools facing these issues serve majority Black and Latino communities. In Alachua County, the outlooks are even worse if you fall into one of these categories or live on what is known as west Gainesville.
According to an article published by the Alligator, Alachua County has the highest achievement gap between white and black students across all 67 Florida counties. Without proper resources, from school supplies to adequate classroom space, how can we expect our teachers to deal with these huge issues?
With my U.S. House Seat for Central Florida, I will ensure that reforming our education system to serve every single student that comes through it, is my top priority. We can no longer pretend like it is okay for our students to be treated in this way. With my leadership and cooperation with other institutions, we are finding solutions that will help turn around the outcome for these students.
I’m looking forward to implementing comprehensive education reform to ensure that our teachers have adequate salaries and supplies to give our students the tools they need to succeed. We’re also looking at several other factors that often impact student success, such as home life, poverty and access. How do we make sure our students have enough food to eat, clothes to wear, transportation to school so that they can show up ready to learn? With my plan, we address all of these issues and more.
Maia Schulte 