Giving Compass' Take:

• Allan Golston argues that, although the college bribery scandal has started a high-profile discussion of inequality in admissions, little work is being done in the field to remedy inequities.

• What role should the philanthropic sector play in bringing income inequality solutions to the national discussion? What solutions should be promoted?

• Learn more about how the college admissions scandal has highlighted income inequalities.

Watching the coverage of the admissions scandal break beyond education circles and become a mainstream topic of conversation, I can’t help but wonder why the broader conversation doesn’t include examples of great work being done in the field to remedy the inequities in higher education, which make a high-income student five times as likely to have a bachelor’s degree by age 24 as a low-income student.

That’s why I was excited to learn about a newly published book, The B.A. Breakthrough by Richard Whitmire, which highlights examples of approaches being used by charter networks and traditional school districts to get more low-income and first-generation students to and through college. Whitmire’s premise is that if we can isolate best practices from the field — which he presents through compelling stories and profiles — we could very well be on the verge of a, well, breakthrough in expanding opportunity for students across the country.

We still have much to learn about the most effective approaches to ensure educational success beyond high school for more low-income students. We are working with partners like the National College Access Network and many others to better understand the conditions and capabilities needed for schools and districts to adopt more “to and through” approaches to advising high school students.

While it’s critically important for us all to reflect on the ways our country’s education system can be more fair, more equitable and more effective, there are examples across the country of schools and systems helping disadvantaged students access opportunity. I hope we spend as much time talking about those as we do talking about scandals. We owe it to ourselves and to our students.

Read the full article about income inequality in education by Allan Golston at The 74.