When I hear the words "education policy," I usually think about things like standardized testing, new curriculum mandates, or teacher evaluations. Basically, all the stuff that happens inside a school building. But after reading Jean Anyon’s essay "What Counts as Educational Policy?", I realized I might’ve been looking in the wrong direction. She makes this really sharp point: education policy isn’t just about schools—it’s about the world kids live in when they walk out the school doors. Take wages. The federal minimum wage has been stuck in place for years. Plenty of parents are working full-time and still not making enough to cover rent or keep food in the fridge. Their kids don’t leave those struggles at home; they carry them straight into the classroom. And no amount of new textbooks or testing reforms is going to erase the stress of hunger or eviction. That’s what Anyon is getting at. If families had stable jobs, fair wages, and access to affordable housing, kids would show up to school with a totally different set of possibilities. She points to research showing that even small bumps in family income improve children’s test scores. Moving families to safer, better-resourced neighborhoods? Graduation rates go up. Suddenly, it’s not just about what’s being taught in math class—it’s about whether kids are even in a position to learn. And honestly, once you see it, you can’t unsee it. We keep treating schools like they’re isolated islands: change the curriculum here, test differently there, and hire better teachers over here. But schools are more like mirrors. They reflect the neighborhoods, the jobs, the housing policies, and the opportunities (or lack of them) surrounding kids. If those are broken, the schools will keep struggling no matter how many reforms we pile on. So here’s the question that stuck with me: why don’t we treat things like raising the minimum wage or building better public transit as education policies? Because if kids can’t get to class ready to learn, then those economic “side issues” are actually the main event. That’s the shift Anyon is asking us to make—and honestly, it feels overdue. If we want real school reform, maybe the place to start isn’t with another round of standardized tests, but with making sure families can afford groceries and rent.
After reading Anyon, I decided to dig into whether any school districts are actually trying to put her ideas into practice—treating poverty, housing, and family support as part of education policy. Here’s what I came across: One example is Union Public Schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has built what they call a “community school village.” Instead of just focusing on academics, their schools provide things like mental health services, nutrition programs, medical clinics, and even adult education. The idea is to meet families where they are and remove the outside barriers that often spill into the classroom. Another example is the Independence School District in Missouri, where every school has a family service liaison. These liaisons connect families with resources both inside and outside the school—from housing and food assistance to home-based support. The results have been impressive: even among at-risk students, graduation rates have climbed significantly. Both districts show how schools can widen their role beyond textbooks and tests, echoing Anyon’s argument that real educational reform has to include the economic and social realities students live with every day.
Links to articles with school district information^ :
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