“Bridging the Gap: The Impact of ESSA in Fuller Park’s Low-Income Students”
Introduction
Author: Monse Rizzo
Department: UIC Institute for Policy & Civic Engagement
Advisor: Dr. Joseph K. Hoereth, IPCE / Marcus Daniels, Graduate Mentor
Abstract: This study aims to investigate how the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in Illinois has affected achievement gaps among high school students of low socioeconomic status in Chicago’s Fuller Park neighborhood. Through a policy analysis, this study looks at the academic performance of Edward Tilden Career Community Academy High School. The scope of this research explores students’ graduation rates of Tilden before and after the implementation of the ESSA during the 2017-2018 school year. Tilden is a public four-year high school in the south side neighborhood of Fuller Park. Data published in 2022 states that out of the 77 Chicago communities, Fuller Park is the most impoverished, with an annual household income hovering above $15,000. This makes Tilden a Title I school, as defined by the Illinois State Board of Education, as a school with 40% or more students under the poverty line. School-wide programs are then implemented through grants to improve the achievement of its lowest-achieving students. With the use of these grants’ schools can invest in things like professional development for faculty, school climate interventions, family literacy programs, career and technical programs, and coursework to earn postsecondary credit (AP or IB). These school-wide programs aim to close the achievement gaps and increase graduation rates. This study finds that ESSA led to a 7% increase in graduation rates. The implications of this investigation are significant, especially considering that, prior to the ESSA, the 2017-2018 SY reported only 43% of Tilden students were graduating; while the improvement has been made, the increase in the percentage is still significantly low. Based on this study’s findings, several recommendations are proposed. These include family/community engagement metrics through stakeholder partnerships, improved college readiness programs, and early warning intervention programs.
Keywords: Title I, Every Student Succeeds Act, graduation rates, grants, achievement gaps, household income, policy analysis, Fuller Park, Tilden High School, stakeholder.