Baltimore Sun article about Howard County rezoning
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Anonymous
DP. That doesn't actually make it better, though. |
Anonymous
River Hill is 10% AA, 6.5% Latino and less than 50% white. The people angry at the redistricting and quoted in the Baltimore Sun are clearly POC.... https://www.hcpss.org/f/schools/profiles/prof_hs_riverhill.pdf |
Anonymous
If I had a nickel for every time I've had occasion to post on DCUM that POC aren't fungible, I'd have a lot of nickels. |
Anonymous
The school is 76% White/Asian with less than 5% FARMs. How is that socioeconomically diverse? |
Anonymous
And haven't you heard.... Brown people from India are no longer allowed to be called POC because they are too successful. |
Anonymous
Mildly curious, why is socioeconomically diverse a goal? Enough to drastically change people's lives and housing values? |
Anonymous
It is still a diverse school. Very diverse. But apparently it's the wrong kind of diversity. It's like the goalposts keep changing. Some people will never be satisfied. |
Anonymous
No, the goalposts don't keep changing. There is more to diversity than white/not white. And "Nuh uh, there are lots of Asian-Americans at River Hill!" is an odd response to "River Hill parents don't want their kids to go to school with black kids." |
Anonymous
Evidently socioeconomically segregated is a goal for some parents in River Hill. Why? |
Anonymous
The idea is that the system is trying to address achievement gaps experienced by lower income studenets, and particularly lower income AA and Hispanic students, who attend schools at which there are higher concentrations of poverty. Certain schools have more than half of their students receiving FARMs in a county where only 20% or so received FARMS. The argument is that the already disadvantaged students are further disadvantaged by attending schools with higher concentrations of povery. |
Anonymous
Probably HCPSS classifies brown people from India as Asian-American, no? |
Anonymous
Yes. |
Anonymous
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Here are some things I would like to see emphasized in this debate and some argument that detract from the discussions. My points address all sides.
For the pro-equity folks: 1) Provide meaningful data, or at least more reasoned arguments, about the benefits of reducing concentrations of poverty. The benefits should address benefits for disadvantaged students, for non-disadvantated students, and for the county as a whiole. I have spent quite a bit of time reading every study I could find. Unfortunately, words like "integrate," "segregate," and "diverse" have different meanings, depending on the context. Historical racial segregation differs from the sociaeconomic segregation systems face today. Don't tell opponents of the plan that "studies show" something, without providing the study. In doing my own reasarch, I have often found that the studies provided do not support the proposition for which they were cited. As an example, I have read over and over again, that for white students learning in a majority minority environment, there is no difference in outcomes. Ok, but when you look at the study, it was controlled for family econimic status. It shows that whites can have good outcomes when the majority of their classmates are children of color. No reasonable person is arguing that the skin color of classmates is a deciding factor in school environment or outcomes. While race is at play, this is about economic status. Attending a school with a poor, unstable population is what opponents of thsi plan are afraid of. Explain to higher SES families why the moves won't hurt their kids and how their kids might stand to benefit from a new environment. Oh, and enough with the Schwartz study. Not only did it only address elementary school grades, but it involved low income families living in higher income areas and attending their neighborhood schools. They weren't being bused from one area to another. That study, which is the most commonly cited study supporting the "equity" side, is not at all persuasive when it comes to high school redistricting, especially when it involves moving families away from their community school. Provide studies showing benefits to low income students and studies showing that higher income students moved to schools with a higher concentration of poverty will not be adversely impacted. Give evidence to sell your position. All of the good intentions in the world are worth nothing if you don't get buy in from the community. 2) Be more honest what you want and what you mean when you talk about "diversity" and "equity." In fact, you should define all of the terms you are using so that people understand what you are talking about. If you don't, we cannot have meaningful discussion. Many of the more advantaged schools are racially and culturally diverse, in that their is a mix of Asian (all parts), white, and other immigrant families. When you chose to live in a culturally diverse community, as most in Howard County have, it is infuriating to be told that you are against diversity. Stop ignorning the fact that Asians are people of color. Instead, focus on the benefits of socioeconomic diversity, within each individual school, within the system, and for the county as a whole. 3) Admit that schools with higher concentrations of poverty have challenges. It is a risk for families in more advantaged schools to move to one. Just admit it. There are challenges, from culture, behavior, discipline - any problem that exists becasue of the crushing disadvantages experienced by families living in poverty. That's the reason concentrated poverty perpetuates bad outcomes for low income students and why heavy concentrations need to be addressed. Stop telling families that "your child will be fine" becasue they come from a higher SES background. When you refuse to acknowledge or address legitimate fears, it only reinforces the community perception that you want to "punish them for being successful." Instead of refusing to state what is obviously true, explain the test scores, explain why certain populations might be bringing the scores down, and help them to embrace the opportunities for their own kids that can be found at attending such schools. 4) Stop telling parents who are expressing legitimate fears that they are resource hoarding racists. Some are, but calling them that is not going to win anyone over. For the opponents of redistricting, especially those in Western Howard County: 1) Stop leading with concerns about your property values. HCPSS is not responsible for maintaing your property values. Yes, we know that you worked hard for your homes, and that many of you are immigrants who have made sacrifies to provide your children with what you view as the best possible life. No one questions that, and we all respect your worth ethic and love for your children. Yes, it will be terrible to lose equity in your home. Still, can you at least try to understand the extent to which your high property values reflect your advantage, which includes the fact that your children go to school with very few low income families? Be honest with yourself. Admitting that doesn't mean that you hate poor black or brown kids. It just means that the school you selected for your family does not have to deal with many of the difficulties that lower SES schools deal with, and that is one of the reasons (perhaps the main reason) why its test scores are so good and property values so high. 2) Stop whining about long bus rides. You opted to live in a less densely populated area. Many of you live in farmland and/or in homes with 1-2 plus acre lots. In exchange for that space, you should expect longer bus rides than the people living in more densely populated areas. Students in the north eastern part of the county already have 7-8 mile bus rides, through plenty of traffic. Your time and your children's time is not more valuable than anyone else's. Oh, and please stop saying that your elementary school child lives a walkable 1.5 miles from school. We all know that no elementary school child walks that distance to school. In fact, I don't know any high schoolers who do. It might be better for you to go to a closer school, but it might also be better for other kids to go to schools that are not over crowded. There is give and take. 3) Stop offering to embrace and welcome the poor folk to River Hill, MR, or Glen Elg. It is a nice offer, a but seriously? You can't drive 3-5 miles longer (or your kid ride a bus a little extra distance), but you expect a lower income family from Columbia to have their kid make the trip all the way to Glen Elg? You complain about the ability of your children to participate in after school activities if they have to go 5 miles further? How is that going to work for a family that might not even have a car? Think about what you are saying. 4) Stop talking about why it is bad to move so many students and the psycholocial impact of being ripped from your community, while at the same time, being frustrated that redistricting can't wait. You say, "just fix the over crowded schools and wait until HS 13 opens in 2023." First, there is no guarantee that the school will even open on time. If the surprise change in funding for capital projects tells us anything, it is that nothing is guaranteed. Remember, the district was changing school start times too, until suddenly they weren't. They've been planning the addition at Hammond for a long time, but it's now not happening any time soon. You never know. Overcrowding is a problem now, and has been for some time. With capacity the way it is, unless we make the high FARMs schools even poorer, come westward adjustment is necessary. Also, do you also realize that "fixing the overcrowded schools" still involves shifiting students who also come from bonded communities and who also have emotional and psychological needs? Many of those students attending Centennial and Howard High, Long Reach, and Atholton have been on the redistricting chopping block many times before and that some communities have already been randomly split apart with life long friends living in the same community going to different high schools? Yes, it sucks, but you adapt and move on. When you brainstorm about alternatives, thoughts like, "let's solve overcrowding by hiring more lunch staff" sound ridiculous. Yes, here is another one - maybe we can impose time limits where students sprint to the extra lunch atttendants and then run outside to on the sidewalk outside the 15 portable classrooms to eat lunch. How about this, let's give rewards to students who eat outside standing up? That will solve everything and prevent the hard working, successful people of Western Howard County from having to compromise anything they rightfully earned. Do you hear yourselves? 5) Stop reiterating that your community is diverse. Yes, the Superintendent is doing a bad job with messaging, but this is about socioeconomic diversity, not race, and there is no socioeconomic diversity in the western high schools when compared with other areas of the county. 6) As you continue to say, "why should we have to suffer because of poor planning and overdevelopment," ask yourself, who should suffer? We can't go back. Obviously you think you have a right to the life you chose, but kids at schools like Howard High School, who are given rewards for walking quickly through the halls without talking to anyone so as to ease congestion should have rights too. They squeeze through crowded hallways in a school that is a quarter mile long and also includes FIFTEEN portable classrooms outside. There is nowhere else to put more portables. What about the needs of these students? To hear you talk, they don't count because most of their houses cost less than yours. People in the east/southeastern part of the county are already suffering because of overdevelopment. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. Punish those resonsible for devlopment policies with your votes. The issue of residential zoning is not before HCPSS. Extensive development is already completed and more is coming soon. Countywide policies cannot continue to burden only certain parts of the county. We all have to share in addressing both the need for affordable housing and some equity in public education. And equity should include not only some socioeconomic diversity in schools, but also the ability to safely walk through the halls, or to be able to attend homecoming, or to not live in fear of being assigned to a different shcool each year. Student safety and well-being at school is worth more than a few extra minutes on buses. 6) We all know thow hard you worked to buy your house in the most exclusive areas and to attend the best schools. Some of your supporters have gone so far as to say that Section 8 families shouldn't have a say in what happens to them because they don't pay property taxes. Just stop. People all over Howard County have worked hard to purchase their homes. Stop. Many of us have not received what we thought we were getting when we bought our homes either, such as the right to send our kids to schools that aren't overcrowded or to to have an idea of what middle or high school our children will attend, or to go to a school that doesn't have mold (Talbott Springs). You aren't the only hardworking people in the county. Finally, I wish that all of the leaders of HoCo would get their act together and figure out the way to deal with the big picture. Right now, all of you look terrible. Not one you should criticize people for being upset. To the Superintendent - if you care about equity, why didn't you restictrict the last time you had the chance? If you want to be a reformer, you should have been more transparent about your motives from the beginning. You share in the blame for this fiasco, because you haven't worked hard enought to get buy in. It's not courageous to formulate a controversial plan and then spring in on unsuspecting families fairly late in the process. People watching closely could see it coming, but I suspect that the majority of families did not. While boundary adjustments will be necessary from time to time as the county develops, is absurd and unhealthy for families to deal with the prospect of being moved again and again. Regardless of where you come down on this issue, whether you think you are acting to aid the disadvantaged, to strengthen the county economically by supporting development, or promoting the best interests of your family and the community in which you chose to livve, we can all agree that this process rips us apart. There has to be a better, more proactive way to coordinate development and school boundaries that promotes stability. To date, HCPSS and the County leaders are doing a terrible job! If we can solve these problems, and I hope we can, there needs to be more civility and understanding from both sides. We need to be honest with each other and honest with ourselves - on all sides. This process is painful, unfair, and I'm sure we all wish it weren't necessary. But it is necessary, and the ultimate solution should promote the greater good, not just the interests of the loudest and best mobilized. |
Anonymous
| You are obviously a resource hoarding racist. Just admit it and I'd have a lot more respect for you. |
Anonymous
 You are obviously a communist. 
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