AEM post/discussion re racism and choice schools

[Anonymous]

I looked at the 2nd post with numbers of transferees and it just keeps reminding me how dumb this whole "choice schools cause brain drain and are the reason high poverty schools don't perform well" conversation is.

There simply are so many minority and high poverty students in some areas that the small # of wealthy kids will not make any difference to improving outcomes. At all. Even if you could force them to go to their local school which you can't.

Take for example Carlin Springs. 60 White Kids, 160 Hispanic kids and 40 Black kids transferred out of Carlin Springs. But the posters are hyperfixated on how to force those white kids to go back to their home school? Cause their mere presence will make the school better? Thats what like 3 kids per classroom? And we are supposed to believe that they are inherently better behaved and will improve the school more than their minority peers? But we don't care about the intellectual and cultural contributions of the 200 minority students who also choose to leave that school?

If choice schools went away they'd have to redo boundaries and I'm assuming Carlin Springs isn't large enough to house all 850 kids currently zoned there. And geographically wealthier families are still concentrated so how exactly would you create a local boundary between Neighborhood CS and newly neighborhood Campbell that doesn't also have crazy wealth and racial imbalances?

And then if you did close all the choice schools, people would just move or choose private and then you would have even greater concentration of poverty. Like it or not the choice schools probably help diversity in some of the higher poverty areas because the option keeps people bought into the Arlington School System. They may suck it up in elementary school because they still have the option in middle or high school for a choice school. Or one sibling goes to a choice school so they keep both kids in APS. Take away options and more people aren't even going to bother to give APS a try.

[Anonymous]

As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

Everything this person said. Plus 1000.

I also think there are white people in positions of power who claim this is "diversity" so that they can maintain the racist status quo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the 2nd post with numbers of transferees and it just keeps reminding me how dumb this whole "choice schools cause brain drain and are the reason high poverty schools don't perform well" conversation is.

There simply are so many minority and high poverty students in some areas that the small # of wealthy kids will not make any difference to improving outcomes. At all. Even if you could force them to go to their local school which you can't.

Take for example Carlin Springs. 60 White Kids, 160 Hispanic kids and 40 Black kids transferred out of Carlin Springs. But the posters are hyperfixated on how to force those white kids to go back to their home school? Cause their mere presence will make the school better? Thats what like 3 kids per classroom? And we are supposed to believe that they are inherently better behaved and will improve the school more than their minority peers? But we don't care about the intellectual and cultural contributions of the 200 minority students who also choose to leave that school?

If choice schools went away they'd have to redo boundaries and I'm assuming Carlin Springs isn't large enough to house all 850 kids currently zoned there. And geographically wealthier families are still concentrated so how exactly would you create a local boundary between Neighborhood CS and newly neighborhood Campbell that doesn't also have crazy wealth and racial imbalances?

And then if you did close all the choice schools, people would just move or choose private and then you would have even greater concentration of poverty. Like it or not the choice schools probably help diversity in some of the higher poverty areas because the option keeps people bought into the Arlington School System. They may suck it up in elementary school because they still have the option in middle or high school for a choice school. Or one sibling goes to a choice school so they keep both kids in APS. Take away options and more people aren't even going to bother to give APS a try.

Thank you. The exact same thing could be said for Abingdon. There is no space to put the transferees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the 2nd post with numbers of transferees and it just keeps reminding me how dumb this whole "choice schools cause brain drain and are the reason high poverty schools don't perform well" conversation is.

There simply are so many minority and high poverty students in some areas that the small # of wealthy kids will not make any difference to improving outcomes. At all. Even if you could force them to go to their local school which you can't.

Take for example Carlin Springs. 60 White Kids, 160 Hispanic kids and 40 Black kids transferred out of Carlin Springs. But the posters are hyperfixated on how to force those white kids to go back to their home school? Cause their mere presence will make the school better? Thats what like 3 kids per classroom? And we are supposed to believe that they are inherently better behaved and will improve the school more than their minority peers? But we don't care about the intellectual and cultural contributions of the 200 minority students who also choose to leave that school?

If choice schools went away they'd have to redo boundaries and I'm assuming Carlin Springs isn't large enough to house all 850 kids currently zoned there. And geographically wealthier families are still concentrated so how exactly would you create a local boundary between Neighborhood CS and newly neighborhood Campbell that doesn't also have crazy wealth and racial imbalances?

And then if you did close all the choice schools, people would just move or choose private and then you would have even greater concentration of poverty. Like it or not the choice schools probably help diversity in some of the higher poverty areas because the option keeps people bought into the Arlington School System. They may suck it up in elementary school because they still have the option in middle or high school for a choice school. Or one sibling goes to a choice school so they keep both kids in APS. Take away options and more people aren't even going to bother to give APS a try.

Thank you. The exact same thing could be said for Abingdon. There is no space to put the transferees

DP. They would have to redraw the boundaries if they closed the option schools. I don't think anyone thinks they could just close them and call it a day.

But I agree that closing them won't do much to solve the problem they are trying to solve without a major reworking of elementary school boundaries/or a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

+1000
A white person grateful for your articulation of this truth!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the 2nd post with numbers of transferees and it just keeps reminding me how dumb this whole "choice schools cause brain drain and are the reason high poverty schools don't perform well" conversation is.

There simply are so many minority and high poverty students in some areas that the small # of wealthy kids will not make any difference to improving outcomes. At all. Even if you could force them to go to their local school which you can't.

Take for example Carlin Springs. 60 White Kids, 160 Hispanic kids and 40 Black kids transferred out of Carlin Springs. But the posters are hyperfixated on how to force those white kids to go back to their home school? Cause their mere presence will make the school better? Thats what like 3 kids per classroom? And we are supposed to believe that they are inherently better behaved and will improve the school more than their minority peers? But we don't care about the intellectual and cultural contributions of the 200 minority students who also choose to leave that school?

If choice schools went away they'd have to redo boundaries and I'm assuming Carlin Springs isn't large enough to house all 850 kids currently zoned there. And geographically wealthier families are still concentrated so how exactly would you create a local boundary between Neighborhood CS and newly neighborhood Campbell that doesn't also have crazy wealth and racial imbalances?

And then if you did close all the choice schools, people would just move or choose private and then you would have even greater concentration of poverty. Like it or not the choice schools probably help diversity in some of the higher poverty areas because the option keeps people bought into the Arlington School System. They may suck it up in elementary school because they still have the option in middle or high school for a choice school. Or one sibling goes to a choice school so they keep both kids in APS. Take away options and more people aren't even going to bother to give APS a try.

Thank you. The exact same thing could be said for Abingdon. There is no space to put the transferees

DP. They would have to redraw the boundaries if they closed the option schools. I don't think anyone thinks they could just close them and call it a day.

But I agree that closing them won't do much to solve the problem they are trying to solve without a major reworking of elementary school boundaries/or a lottery.

Not sure who "they" are; but the original AEM post, imo, isn't really about diversity and racism. I think JF just wants to shut down option programs under the budget banner. His singular priority is increased teacher pay and therefore is lashing out at something that might save a few dollars for the cause, claiming the cost is more than financial (ie interfering with diversity) and letting everyone else go to town. He hasn't made one singular comment beyond his initial post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a North Arlington resident who thinks N Arlington is racist so…

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

Everything this person said. Plus 1000.

I also think there are white people in positions of power who claim this is "diversity" so that they can maintain the racist status quo.

This whole convo is racist, the people driving it are white people who couldn't afford N Arlington so their kids are in S Arlington schools with (gasp!) majority black/brown. They would feel a lot more comfortable if there were more white kids to keep their white kids company. So their solutionis to kill the option schools to get more of their white neighbors to stay in the neighborhood schools. That's all it is, they claim to be social justice warriors but it's racist and self interested. What really gets me is they attack others for their ethics.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

My kids go to a choice school more diverse than our neighborhood school. The diversity was a bonus to us, but it wasn't the driving factor in transferring. Two things can be true at the same time.

So true. Most people I know are happy to have more diversity in their children’s schools, as long as school performance is top-notch.

People want quality instruction and good outcomes. Period.

I think the point was if diversity was the only factor, you’d have no problems administratively transferring your kid to Carlin Springs. It’s not the only consideration though. There’s a reason why options programs exist. All children should be in an environment with the best learning outcomes. Including those at Drew and Carlin springs.

It’s not the parent’s fault though that structural racism exists. If we had stronger APS and County leadership, maybe we can start addressing the issue. JF’s post was self serving though.

Of course diversity isn’t the only factor! Honestly, I think for most people it’s just a nice little add on when it exists.

Good test scores? Great!
Good test scores AND diversity? Super!
Bad test scores and (insert whatever you want)? That’s a tough sell.

And I don’t blame people for it!

Want actual change? Stop building affordable housing south of 50 and shift it up north. That will actually move the needle.

DP. I don’t think that OP is disagreeing with you. You owned your decision to send your children to option schools. They’re just commenting that high FARM schools should be great schools too. But that’s a school board and county leadership problem. Stop blaming parents for their own institutional inaction and neglect.

All of our schools can be good — I agree. Create opt-in programs (ATS style) within each school. This is a PARENTING problem, too! Get family buy in. Just because something is harder for you than a millionaire on the other side of the county doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

Fifty books over the summer is less than a book per day after all.

Expect more from your kids and let their teachers have high expectations, too. If that’s too hard, well then, stop whining.

Wut? lol! Bootstraps, right? Of course a millionaire child’s educational outcomes will be better with the au pair, intensive prek where they already learned how to read before even stepping foot in K and resources to get tutors and therapy outside of APS’ services. You don’t need ATS. Your kid will succeed at their perfectly fine neighborhood school.

You are what’s wrong with Arlington.

No, structural racism is what's wrong with Arlington and every other public school system. We shouldn't have segregated schools in one of the wealthiest counties in the country. Full stop. Nothing else needs to be discussed. It just needs to be fixed. And structural racism can't be fixed by individuals. This requires a government solution. Why is this not blindingly obvious to everyone in the community who actually cares about kids?

OP. That was my point in one of my comments. Structural Racism needs to be solved by policy, not parents not choosing option schools for their kids. But then a commenter suggested that it’s a parent (and particularly a poor parent) problem as well. Which is what my comment above about bootstraps referred to.

Public schools alone can’t solve structural racism, they have very limited impact on this. Most of the solutions to help reduce the achievement gap are very expensive and involve things the school system has no control over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

Everything this person said. Plus 1000.

I also think there are white people in positions of power who claim this is "diversity" so that they can maintain the racist status quo.

This whole convo is racist, the people driving it are white people who couldn't afford N Arlington so their kids are in S Arlington schools with (gasp!) majority black/brown. They would feel a lot more comfortable if there were more white kids to keep their white kids company. So their solutionis to kill the option schools to get more of their white neighbors to stay in the neighborhood schools. That's all it is, they claim to be social justice warriors but it's racist and self interested. What really gets me is they attack others for their ethics.

I think all lot of us think all the APS schools should look like APS as a whole, and not two ends of a spectrum. Arlington is not bigger than the town I grew up in, geographically (26 square miles) and we had three elementary schools and lots of kids took the bus. We could do a lot better than we do and the world would not melt down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

Everything this person said. Plus 1000.

I also think there are white people in positions of power who claim this is "diversity" so that they can maintain the racist status quo.

This whole convo is racist, the people driving it are white people who couldn't afford N Arlington so their kids are in S Arlington schools with (gasp!) majority black/brown. They would feel a lot more comfortable if there were more white kids to keep their white kids company. So their solutionis to kill the option schools to get more of their white neighbors to stay in the neighborhood schools. That's all it is, they claim to be social justice warriors but it's racist and self interested. What really gets me is they attack others for their ethics.

I think you're wrong. This convo shows how racism hurts everyone. It hurts the kids in the extremely impoverished schools. It hurts the kids who attend majority white schools (there are N Arlington residents upthread who are uncomfortable with the demographics of their school). It hurts the people of color who would move to N Arlington but for the segregation of our schools and county. Take the option schools out of it and see the truth: there are few institutions as racist as the public school system. Don't attack the people calling it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a North Arlington resident who thinks N Arlington is racist so…

+1

+2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

Everything this person said. Plus 1000.

I also think there are white people in positions of power who claim this is "diversity" so that they can maintain the racist status quo.

This whole convo is racist, the people driving it are white people who couldn't afford N Arlington so their kids are in S Arlington schools with (gasp!) majority black/brown. They would feel a lot more comfortable if there were more white kids to keep their white kids company. So their solutionis to kill the option schools to get more of their white neighbors to stay in the neighborhood schools. That's all it is, they claim to be social justice warriors but it's racist and self interested. What really gets me is they attack others for their ethics.

I think you're wrong. This convo shows how racism hurts everyone. It hurts the kids in the extremely impoverished schools. It hurts the kids who attend majority white schools (there are N Arlington residents upthread who are uncomfortable with the demographics of their school). It hurts the people of color who would move to N Arlington but for the segregation of our schools and county. Take the option schools out of it and see the truth: there are few institutions as racist as the public school system. Don't attack the people calling it out.

YES! Structural Racism is at the root. And we’re all arguing past each other. Same as in every affordable housing debate, which really contributes to upholding structural racism more than anything APS does or could do. The County needs to have some cojones, too, if there’s any hope of addressing structural racism in terms of where people can live and attend school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a minority of middle eastern origin I find it extremely offensive that schools such as Carlin Springs is considered more diverse than ATS, where my kids go. The only way Carlin Springs is more diverse than ATS is if you lump all non-white students together. It is extremely racist to believe that all non-white students are the same and that the only diversity that matters is white vs. non-white. Ethnically speaking, a white person is just as different from a person of Middle Eastern origin than a hispanic person is. Carlin Springs isn't diverse. It is 73% hispanic. This means that three quarters of the school is from one race/ethnicity. How on earth is that diverse? Arlington Traditional School is more equally divided between different races and 9% of the school is from multiple races. The Black population, 20%, is diverse in and of itself. We have Ethiopians, African Americans, Eritrians, and Nigerians, just to name a few. Same with the 27% of Asian students who come from all over the vast continent of Asia. We have students with origins from Azerbeijan, Mongolia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhestan. I mean the list goes on. 24 different languages are spoken at ATS. How many different languages are spoken in Carlin Springs? I am really sick and tired of this narrow definition of diversity. It is a racist definition given to us by white people who think that we are all the same. Disgusting.

Just as a point, your children are considered “white” in terms of APS statistics. At schools like Randolph and Carlin Springs the “white” children are often kids like your own, just more recently arrived and with parents who don’t know (yet) how to navigate the system. Also, some people in the AEM thread aren’t in touch with just how diverse the ES option schools are, because they were less diverse in the past and prior to APS moving VPI programs around and adjusting policies at the Immersion schools so there were balanced admissions of English/Spanish speakers. I don’t disagree with anything else you’ve said.