Latin - diversity

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting the data PP. I am most curious about Latin because it is in a diverse neighborhood. Janney is not so I don’t expect it to mirror DC demographics, Walls is a hike for a lot of neighborhoods so I can see how taking public transport to school would be a pain. But Latin is in a predominantly minority neighborhood and area of the city.

[Anonymous]

Non-white child goes to Latin and loves the school. Learning. Not spending all day with social learning and other stuff. Serious academics. Surprisingly Latin, English, and geography are fascinating. Math challenging no matter where. Plenty of homework. Field trips. Happy to have chosen Latin middle school.

[Anonymous]

self-selection effects. the classical education with requirement to learn latin. you have to know and want to leave your elementary school before the terminal grade (5th). the location is not especially convenient from a lot of the city. very large numbers of higher ses public school students apply to latin each year in the lottery.

[Anonymous]

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DC/PST045222

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin demographics mirror that of the city. So not sure what you are referring to as lack of diversity. Are there a lot of white kids? Yes, because almost half of the city is white. I think the high school at Latin is 35% white.

According to OSSE’s data, only 12.5% of DC public school students—that’s DCPS and charters—identify as white:
https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0

That’s because there are a ton of white kids in private school. PP said Latin’s demographics mirror the city. They are correct.

[Anonymous]

When Jefferson Academy was a Junior High under Principal Vera White, Latin was offered. There was a strong math-science program there with a private company partnership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin demographics mirror that of the city. So not sure what you are referring to as lack of diversity. Are there a lot of white kids? Yes, because almost half of the city is white. I think the high school at Latin is 35% white.

According to OSSE’s data, only 12.5% of DC public school students—that’s DCPS and charters—identify as white:
https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0

That’s because there are a ton of white kids in private school. PP said Latin’s demographics mirror the city. They are correct.

Not quite. White kids are about 24% of DC’s under-18 population, not “almost half.”

[Anonymous]

and white kids are not Latin's percentages in the neighborhood around Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and white kids are not Latin's percentages in the neighborhood around Latin.

I'm not sure what the neighborhood population has to do with it. It's a citywide lottery.

[Anonymous]

most kids attend school even middle school closer to where they live than the whole "Ward 6 shuttle" Latin thing. Citywide is not whiter than the neighborhood, by the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin demographics mirror that of the city. So not sure what you are referring to as lack of diversity. Are there a lot of white kids? Yes, because almost half of the city is white. I think the high school at Latin is 35% white.

According to OSSE’s data, only 12.5% of DC public school students—that’s DCPS and charters—identify as white:
https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0

People always quote this statistic as though it ends the conversation. It doesn't! Half the population is white - so half the students should approx be white. The reason it is not that way at others DCPS/Charter schools is because most of them suck. But at a good one - the white parents buy in and send their kid there roughly proportional to their population numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin demographics mirror that of the city. So not sure what you are referring to as lack of diversity. Are there a lot of white kids? Yes, because almost half of the city is white. I think the high school at Latin is 35% white.

According to OSSE’s data, only 12.5% of DC public school students—that’s DCPS and charters—identify as white:
https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0

People always quote this statistic as though it ends the conversation. It doesn't! Half the population is white - so half the students should approx be white. The reason it is not that way at others DCPS/Charter schools is because most of them suck. But at a good one - the white parents buy in and send their kid there roughly proportional to their population numbers.

46% of the total population is white but only 24% of people under 18 are white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin demographics mirror that of the city. So not sure what you are referring to as lack of diversity. Are there a lot of white kids? Yes, because almost half of the city is white. I think the high school at Latin is 35% white.

According to OSSE’s data, only 12.5% of DC public school students—that’s DCPS and charters—identify as white:
https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0

People always quote this statistic as though it ends the conversation. It doesn't! Half the population is white - so half the students should approx be white. The reason it is not that way at others DCPS/Charter schools is because most of them suck. But at a good one - the white parents buy in and send their kid there roughly proportional to their population numbers.

But this “half the population” thing is wrong when it comes to kids. Roughly a quarter of DC kids are white. It’s just a fact that the school is disproportionately white. People may disagree about the reasons and whether or not it’s a problem, but it’s weird to dig in on the claim that this reflects the city.

[Anonymous]

Why do you assume that all DC black families should want to attend Latin?

People choose to go to schools for many reasons -- the curriculum, the location, the activities, the reputation among peers etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin demographics mirror that of the city. So not sure what you are referring to as lack of diversity. Are there a lot of white kids? Yes, because almost half of the city is white. I think the high school at Latin is 35% white.

According to OSSE’s data, only 12.5% of DC public school students—that’s DCPS and charters—identify as white:
https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0

People always quote this statistic as though it ends the conversation. It doesn't! Half the population is white - so half the students should approx be white. The reason it is not that way at others DCPS/Charter schools is because most of them suck. But at a good one - the white parents buy in and send their kid there roughly proportional to their population numbers.

But this “half the population” thing is wrong when it comes to kids. Roughly a quarter of DC kids are white. It’s just a fact that the school is disproportionately white. People may disagree about the reasons and whether or not it’s a problem, but it’s weird to dig in on the claim that this reflects the city.

What would be more useful would be to see the economic breakdown of the school's population.