Advanced Authentic Research
Educational Inequality in Lower Income Communities in the Bay Area


by : 
Gaurav T.


The economic increase of the Bay Area due to the growth of the tech sector has lead to unparalleled wealth across the Bay Area. Despite this growth, that wealth has not been spread evenly across the Bay Area and there are many communities across the Bay Area that are considered low income. Across the US and the rest of the world, economic inequality often leads to a discrepancies in educational attainment, exacerbating these problems and preventing social mobility. The Bay Area has a different form of inequality, chiefly caused by the growth of one specific sector and the resulting gentrification, so researching the schools in the lower income communities will reveal whether the same educational discrepancies exist.

Personal Statement

My project on educational inequality in East Palo Alto was inspired by my love for reading. I had grown up surrounded by books and loved reading from a very early age, but many people don't get access to that magnitude of reading material. Many students in lower income communities aren't able to use the same resources that I was able to, and so I chose to research their experience and understand how their life struggles affected their education. Research has allowed me to more thoroughly understand a problem that I was passionate about and find answers to question that couldn't be answered before.