“You Can’t Help a Child if You Don’t Know Something Yourself”: A Qualitative Study of Barriers to Education in an Underserved West Baltimore Community

There have been numerous efforts to simultaneously increase awareness and reduce the impact of health disparities and educational inequities. Initiatives have included designing, testing and training on selective interventions, as well as promoting progressive policymaking at local, state, and national levels. Input from the community is essential in building a cradle-to-career continuum of learning and other associated supports. A series of five different focus groups were held with various stakeholders in an underserved community—mothers in a prenatal program (n = 5); youth and young adults (n = 9); community residents (n = 13); principals (n = 5); and teachers and school staff (n = 14). These focus groups were intended to inform research on how children are learning, and how community supports impact student learning. Key themes that emerged included barriers to educational achievement and health promotion, which includes mental health and self-esteem, parental support, early childhood education, and access to healthy food options.