Diversity of schools - can this work both ways? Am I being unreasonable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are ZERO schools that are more than 80% white.

The idea that sending your kid to a school of 70% white kids is somehow racist makes me chortle. Meanwhile, good luck finding a school with a decent cohort of Asian students. But of course, Asians don’t count.

I’m the OP. My (public) high school was about 90% white. About 10% Asian, less than 1% black, less than 1% Latino. This was in a wealthy suburb of a major US city (not DC).

I do it want that for my children.

DO NOT! Sorry, bad typo.

[Anonymous]

Richard Montgomery Hs in MoCo is so well mixed that I think it’s perfect. White, Latino, Black, Asians from all over. Great high school for so many reasons. No one is going to be the only anything there.

[Anonymous]

What about academics, extracurriculars, clubs, etc? A school that's the right fit for your child's goals seems more important than the one that makes you look cool to the Robin DiAngelos.

[Anonymous]

i think its okay to not choose say eastern for your child for high school. but a problem i see is people pulling happy kids out in upper elementary school and skipping out on the middle school feeder (which their child wants to attend w established friends) because they are concerned about high school. that always strikes me as a little bit like the woman who leans out professionally at a stage before she even has kids or something.

[Anonymous]

I think it's stupid to choose a school based on race. However, in DC, I wouldn't send my kids to a school that is <1% white because, in DC, that means the majority of kids are low income. Being poor comes with a ton of challenges, and as a result, the student body at that school is going to have academic challenges. Peer groups matter in the classroom, particularly as kids get older. You can have the most amazing teachers in the world in those classrooms, but the academic environment is going to suffer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think its okay to not choose say eastern for your child for high school. but a problem i see is people pulling happy kids out in upper elementary school and skipping out on the middle school feeder (which their child wants to attend w established friends) because they are concerned about high school. that always strikes me as a little bit like the woman who leans out professionally at a stage before she even has kids or something.

I suspect you have very young children.
The path from 4th to 9th grade is incredibly short, and your options for 9th will be limited by the middle school they go to both by feeder system and content learned. You are crazy if you aren't thinking about high school when you have upper middle schoolers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's stupid to choose a school based on race. However, in DC, I wouldn't send my kids to a school that is <1% white because, in DC, that means the majority of kids are low income. Being poor comes with a ton of challenges, and as a result, the student body at that school is going to have academic challenges. Peer groups matter in the classroom, particularly as kids get older. You can have the most amazing teachers in the world in those classrooms, but the academic environment is going to suffer.

+1.

Race gets confounded with other statistics that matter to parents. Test scores are not everything, but they're also not nothing. School safety - frequency of reporting of fights, assaults, matters, it's something I look at. It's not necessarily race that leads a parent to want to avoid an IB school where 90% of kids are not testing at grade level. When I talk to my black colleagues about my IB school, they say "heck no! you can't send your kid to that school! That's not doing the best for your kid!" But some folks will assume it's race as the *only* reason.

Now when parents don't want to send their kids to Banneker.... well then you do have to ask why, when it's a an excellent school.

[Anonymous]

i have a few thoughts on this:

1. one of my high-achieving black friends pointed out to me recently that for her moms generation, right after desgregation, black people were willing to fight their way into recently desgregated "white" schools because they KNEW that those schools were better resourced and that kids were getting a better education. They were willing to face the racism they knew was coming for them for that opportunity.

2. many of us grew up that way -- as the only POC in a white school -- and are deeply traumatized by that experience and would never want it for our children. We want our kids to experience a happy, innocent childhood, to never feel "less than," AND to learn.

3. I'm a non-black POC who was the only non-white person in my class. I'm Asian. I was not with academic peers -- i was the only kid in my class to place in a few different national math competitions, i had the highest tested IQ in my grade, but still, the myth of white supremacy permeated that school because of the demographics and stuck on me.

4. POC have a much more complicated school choice decision tree than white people do. White people can send their kids to a very white school and not have to worry about the racism bit at all, because their child will not experience it. Will their kids experience some negative side effects (they may become more racist, be less likely to see the humanity in people of color?)? maybe. but i rarely meet white people who are concerned about that.

5. School integration is a dream that the civil rights movement initiated. we have not achieved it. I really believe that everyone would benefit from going to a school that feels truly integrated, with children of all different races. what can we all do to achieve that goal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3. I'm a non-black POC who was the only non-white person in my class. I'm Asian. I was not with academic peers -- i was the only kid in my class to place in a few different national math competitions, i had the highest tested IQ in my grade, but still, the myth of white supremacy permeated that school because of the demographics and stuck on me.

I'm sorry, but how is this? I thought everybody's favorite Asian stereotype was that Asians have magic academic skills? So the school despite stereotypes and despite the facts said "no the white boys are smarter?" I am surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i have a few thoughts on this:

1. one of my high-achieving black friends pointed out to me recently that for her moms generation, right after desgregation, black people were willing to fight their way into recently desgregated "white" schools because they KNEW that those schools were better resourced and that kids were getting a better education. They were willing to face the racism they knew was coming for them for that opportunity.

2. many of us grew up that way -- as the only POC in a white school -- and are deeply traumatized by that experience and would never want it for our children. We want our kids to experience a happy, innocent childhood, to never feel "less than," AND to learn.

3. I'm a non-black POC who was the only non-white person in my class. I'm Asian. I was not with academic peers -- i was the only kid in my class to place in a few different national math competitions, i had the highest tested IQ in my grade, but still, the myth of white supremacy permeated that school because of the demographics and stuck on me.

4. POC have a much more complicated school choice decision tree than white people do. White people can send their kids to a very white school and not have to worry about the racism bit at all, because their child will not experience it. Will their kids experience some negative side effects (they may become more racist, be less likely to see the humanity in people of color?)? maybe. but i rarely meet white people who are concerned about that.

5. School integration is a dream that the civil rights movement initiated. we have not achieved it. I really believe that everyone would benefit from going to a school that feels truly integrated, with children of all different races. what can we all do to achieve that goal?

I'm white, but I see this 100%. Way more factors to deal with, especially in DC. I see this with friends who grapple with the same things white families do PLUS stress around racist behavior by teachers, concerns about peer groups, worry about physical safety, concerns about police treatment, and a general lack of multigenerational wealth and education that helps steer the boat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
5. School integration is a dream that the civil rights movement initiated. we have not achieved it. I really believe that everyone would benefit from going to a school that feels truly integrated, with children of all different races. what can we all do to achieve that goal?

Housing, narrowing the income gap, better funding for special needs, end drug use. Simple!

[Anonymous]

Do schools with 99%+ Black students actually want White kids to register?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do schools with 99%+ Black students actually want White kids to register?

I can tell you Banneker (at least a few years ago) does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's stupid to choose a school based on race. However, in DC, I wouldn't send my kids to a school that is <1% white because, in DC, that means the majority of kids are low income. Being poor comes with a ton of challenges, and as a result, the student body at that school is going to have academic challenges. Peer groups matter in the classroom, particularly as kids get older. You can have the most amazing teachers in the world in those classrooms, but the academic environment is going to suffer.

+1.

Race gets confounded with other statistics that matter to parents. Test scores are not everything, but they're also not nothing. School safety - frequency of reporting of fights, assaults, matters, it's something I look at. It's not necessarily race that leads a parent to want to avoid an IB school where 90% of kids are not testing at grade level. When I talk to my black colleagues about my IB school, they say "heck no! you can't send your kid to that school! That's not doing the best for your kid!" But some folks will assume it's race as the *only* reason.

Now when parents don't want to send their kids to Banneker.... well then you do have to ask why, when it's a an excellent school.

I came to say almost exactly this. I wouldn't send my child to a school that had a huge portion of low-income kids, regardless of race. Of course, since we are in DC rather than West Virginia, and there are close to zero poor white kids here, that's not an issue. But we sent our kids to an elementary school that had a large portion of kids from difficult circumstances and hearing about the constant disruptions and occasional chair throwing and fights, and now they are at DC schools where there are very few poor kids, and it's just much better for them. One of the problems at the old school was the poor leadership, but I also recognize that it's really, really hard for the teachers and principals at those schools.

But then there's always the question (which has been debated endlessly here) of why Banneker, a highly successful selective school, has so few white students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I really appreciate the perspectives here. Thank you.

One thing I want to distinguish here. I’m not talking about a white kid being in the minority. I agree that would be a valuable experience.

I’m talking about schools that are <1% white. So a high school with 300 kids, 2 of whom are white. That’s what I’m talking about.

Sounds like you're trying to torture your kid and seeking some dcum validation.