Integration and DC Schools -- A high priority? Yay or nay?

[Anonymous]

I'm watching the DC Council Hearing on the education related agencies (UDC, DME-Deputy Mayor for Education, State Board of Education, DC PCSB, etc). The testimony from the EmpowerEd group is that the DME must be focused on school integration as a priority and push the necessary school boundary changes that lead to integration goals even if there is pushback.

What are your thoughts? I have lots of priorities for education like more gifted programs, improved middle school options, better curriculum, support to keep teachers in the profession, etc but changing school boundaries for the purposes of integration isn't high on the list.

[Anonymous]

Until the city is more integrated, the public schools won't be. Take a look at the charters and the specialized high schools, which are generally more integrated.

[Anonymous]

Empower always says that. I think they add a lot of value with their data dashboard and highlighting which schools are overperforming their demographics. But the pushback is too much for DME/OSSE.

Having said that, I would suggest that the city not horrifically botch the rollout of future ideas like their stupid Maury/Miner combination. And if they would actually address the very real problems of certain schools then integration would likely increase on its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Empower always says that. I think they add a lot of value with their data dashboard and highlighting which schools are overperforming their demographics. But the pushback is too much for DME/OSSE.

Having said that, I would suggest that the city not horrifically botch the rollout of future ideas like their stupid Maury/Miner combination. And if they would actually address the very real problems of certain schools then integration would likely increase on its own.

Just to clarify: The data dashboards are from EmpowerK12. OP is referring to EmpowerEd, an advocacy organization for diverse schools. (Then there's Empower DC, which works on environmental and economic justice. It's definitely confusing.)

[Anonymous]

What boundary changes would lead to more integration? In many (most?) cases a boundary change is likely to only result in more students going to charters or OOB schools.

I think a better goal is getting more students to attend their current IB schools, because it would naturally result in more efficient use of resources and neighborhood community building across racial and socioeconomic lines.

To me the real question is: what can/should DCPS be doing to make its neighborhood schools more appealing to the families who live in boundary?

[Anonymous]

Integration is all well and good until you lose the community feel and kids need to schlep across town to get to school. No parent wants a long commute for their kids. This has been tried in many areas and it has always failed.

[Anonymous]

Many Charters are super integrated. Even the fancy ones -- BASIS, DCI and Latin fit the actual definition of integrated (no one race more than 70 percent of the population).

Other charters are not integrated but at serving their low-income populations better than the DCPS schools (like DC Prep getting everyone into college).

DCPS schools in gentrifying neighborhoods are sometimes integrated and there is an opportunity here to be a model. Like I feel Garrison actually serves all demographics well.

Other DCPS schools are not integrated because the housing is segregated. Do people really want to run busses between Ward 3 and EOTR or something? This sounds like a mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Empower always says that. I think they add a lot of value with their data dashboard and highlighting which schools are overperforming their demographics. But the pushback is too much for DME/OSSE.

Having said that, I would suggest that the city not horrifically botch the rollout of future ideas like their stupid Maury/Miner combination. And if they would actually address the very real problems of certain schools then integration would likely increase on its own.

Just to clarify: The data dashboards are from EmpowerK12. OP is referring to EmpowerEd, an advocacy organization for diverse schools. (Then there's Empower DC, which works on environmental and economic justice. It's definitely confusing.)

Oops, sorry.... Anyway, I still think trying to persuade people to send their kids to bad schools on the theory that they'll improve it is a losing game, and the answer is to deal directly with whatever the actual problems of each school happen to be

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm watching the DC Council Hearing on the education related agencies (UDC, DME-Deputy Mayor for Education, State Board of Education, DC PCSB, etc). The testimony from the EmpowerEd group is that the DME must be focused on school integration as a priority and push the necessary school boundary changes that lead to integration goals even if there is pushback.

What are your thoughts? I have lots of priorities for education like more gifted programs, improved middle school options, better curriculum, support to keep teachers in the profession, etc but changing school boundaries for the purposes of integration isn't high on the list.

What does “more” integration even mean in DC. It’s one of the most integrated districts in the country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many Charters are super integrated. Even the fancy ones -- BASIS, DCI and Latin fit the actual definition of integrated (no one race more than 70 percent of the population).

Other charters are not integrated but at serving their low-income populations better than the DCPS schools (like DC Prep getting everyone into college).

DCPS schools in gentrifying neighborhoods are sometimes integrated and there is an opportunity here to be a model. Like I feel Garrison actually serves all demographics well.

Other DCPS schools are not integrated because the housing is segregated. Do people really want to run busses between Ward 3 and EOTR or something? This sounds like a mess.

Running the buses does actually lift the bottom up quite a bit, the problem is people who can leave at first opportunity because there are real costs.

Real busing works, but it doesn’t last because people vote with their feet (or neighborhoods disincorporate to break off from the school system)

[Anonymous]

DC has utterly failed to bus a small number of students eligible for special ed bussing, so I think bussing any more kids would be more than they can handle.

[Anonymous]

Integration is very important to me and I am engaged in it, but it is generally overtaken by other priorities on this board.

I'd say mostly, this board wants differentiation and to not have children of board participants in the same schools as students with behavior problems. Those goals do not go well with generalized integration.

There are also more general segregation/race and class relations issues, with a major one being a distribution of income and educational attainment that is at the edges with nobody in the middle (we have a bunch of high income advanced degree holders and HS-or-worse educated low income parents, nothing in between in DC).

[Anonymous]

Integration is important to me and I think boundaries should take it into account, but ruining people's commutes and calling them racist is never going to be a winning proposal. The best way to have integration is to have high quality leadership and high quality teaching. As well as massive investment in special ed and HIT. It drives me crazy when so-called "advocates" run their mouths about unrealistic fantasy proposals, especially if they don't send their own kids accordingly. It puts people off the whole concept. Quality improvement is the only way.

[Anonymous]

I think because of residential segregation,.boundary changes aren't going to get the job done, so this is annoying and dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm watching the DC Council Hearing on the education related agencies (UDC, DME-Deputy Mayor for Education, State Board of Education, DC PCSB, etc). The testimony from the EmpowerEd group is that the DME must be focused on school integration as a priority and push the necessary school boundary changes that lead to integration goals even if there is pushback.

What are your thoughts? I have lots of priorities for education like more gifted programs, improved middle school options, better curriculum, support to keep teachers in the profession, etc but changing school boundaries for the purposes of integration isn't high on the list.

What does “more” integration even mean in DC. It’s one of the most integrated districts in the country

The least integrated areas are Ward 3 and Wards 7 and 8.