Why are there no white kids at Banneker?

[Anonymous]

Whether it counts or not is beside the point. Like Colombia Heights and Le Droit Park I would expect Banneker to be a natural site of gentrification but its not. Trying to understand why is interesting.

[Anonymous]

Not the PP but white people gentrifying neighborhoods and a white person sending their child to an all minority school is not an apples to apples comparison. The white pioneers into majority minority communities rarely are families. Usually they are young singles wanting to be closer to downtown neighborhoods. White families that gentrify a neighborhood, usually go into neighborhoods that were relatively safe and quiet prior to their arrival (eg. Brookland). (You can live inside your house and never have an occasion to interact with your neighbors if preferred).

It's one thing if a person subjects themselves to a minority status--it's another thing to subject your child to it. As an AA I am comfortable being the "only" in the room. But I'm an adult. I can handle any incident should it occur (which is rare). However, I am very careful to avoid placing my child into a situation where they are the "only" in a classroom. I would only do it if I felt my child was mentally prepared to handle what other kids (even if it's only one) might say, do or how they may treat my child because they are different. If my child isn't mentally prepared, the outcome could be devastating.

That being said, if you are white, I imagine your child will be fine in a school like Banneker. These kids have a higher level of maturity and exposure. Still, your child has to be mentally ready to handle being the kid who is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whether it counts or not is beside the point. Like Colombia Heights and Le Droit Park I would expect Banneker to be a natural site of gentrification but its not. Trying to understand why is interesting.

Then why say it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP but white people gentrifying neighborhoods and a white person sending their child to an all minority school is not an apples to apples comparison. The white pioneers into majority minority communities rarely are families. Usually they are young singles wanting to be closer to downtown neighborhoods. White families that gentrify a neighborhood, usually go into neighborhoods that were relatively safe and quiet prior to their arrival (eg. Brookland). (You can live inside your house and never have an occasion to interact with your neighbors if preferred).

It's one thing if a person subjects themselves to a minority status--it's another thing to subject your child to it. As an AA I am comfortable being the "only" in the room. But I'm an adult. I can handle any incident should it occur (which is rare). However, I am very careful to avoid placing my child into a situation where they are the "only" in a classroom. I would only do it if I felt my child was mentally prepared to handle what other kids (even if it's only one) might say, do or how they may treat my child because they are different. If my child isn't mentally prepared, the outcome could be devastating.

That being said, if you are white, I imagine your child will be fine in a school like Banneker. These kids have a higher level of maturity and exposure. Still, your child has to be mentally ready to handle being the kid who is different.

This. Exactly. I'm white with two little kids and, funny enough, I live in Brookland. I also happen to interact with my neighbors, though.

I am comfortable being the only white person in a room. Putting my kids in a similar school situation - it depends on how they will be treated and whether or not the other families in the school share our values. Diversity is one thing but radically different values is another. I have no reason to think that the parents of Banneker have different values than myself. I see a community that is focused on doing the best by their children and has done so successfully. I do have reason to think, however, that the parents of some of the children in Brookland's public schools have different values. That's a well-worn topic.

I am open to considering Banneker, if my kids were accepted. They would know that they may experience a certain degree of racism, however limited, we can talk about their experiences. That by itself wouldn't be the end of the world but there is a limit to how much we want to subject our kids to the unknown at a young age. I think that's really what this is all about - the unknown - which really isn't about race or money or socio-economic status.

[Anonymous]

For me it's not about worrying that my kid will be the 'only' anything - I have one DC in a DCPS school and DC is the minority in that class - but it IS about the quality and ethos of the school. If the school works, if it feels like a school and not a prison, if there are great teachers, good facilities, arts and academics - I'm happy to send my kids there. Those kinds of schools should exist all over DC what ever the racial make up of the class. One thing I've noticed is that some folks in some commuities - black, latino, asian have sometimes different ideas about what makes a school 'good' and I may not want those same things. Those differences sometimes make it difficult to choose your neighborhood school, not because it's not good or because it's not diverse but because the teaching style, philosophy and feel of the school (how strict teachers are etc) might not fit what you want for your kid.
It's one of the reasons we chose Ellington over Banneker for our child. It had the right fit and feel for us.

[Anonymous]

I gave my thoughts already (SWW alum). If things continue as they are today, my preference for DD would be Banneker over SWW. Considering Thurgood Marshall too. I am quite alright with Banneker continuing as a black school as its less competition for my baby.lol Getting into the PreK3 has been brutal enough. Sheesh!

[Anonymous]

I never understand the posts like a few PPs who dis Wilson as if it's something you stepped in, like dog poop.

Particularly the Academies, since in this thread we are talking about high-achieving students. At Wilson, the motivated, high achieving kids are in the Academies, not the general population.

And when you compare the Wilson academies to Banneker, and the outputs ... it's not really even a contest.

Banneker's average SAT scores reported last years are LOWER than the national average, for goodness sake. Think about that. (Free SAT test prep is offered at Banneker, for the naysayers who quick to announce that SAT scores only reflect the ability to pay for the Kaplan review course)

So, sure, Banneker should probably be in the mix for parents of conscientious students of all skin tones. But to wrinkle your nose at Wilson (academies) in comparing the two is just ... confusing.

[Anonymous]

Should the title read, why is it not a larger percentage of white kids at Banneker?

I think Banneker was supposedly to be the alternative to SWW as many felt that Foggy Bottom would attract a certain demographic. Therefore, having Banneker directly across the street from a HBCU (Howard University) a partnership would form.

Remember, Banneker was created after a heated discussion between the school board and Superintendent Reed. The Superintendent resigned abruptly in protest of support for such a school. We all know that a former Superintendent Ackerman wanted Banneker to be eliminated. Her main focus was that all high-schools should be about "strong and rigorous" academics and just an applicatoin only high school.

Whites doen't know what they want for public education they just know what they don't want blacks to have in education. Think about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the posts like a few PPs who dis Wilson as if it's something you stepped in, like dog poop.

Particularly the Academies, since in this thread we are talking about high-achieving students. At Wilson, the motivated, high achieving kids are in the Academies, not the general population.

And when you compare the Wilson academies to Banneker, and the outputs ... it's not really even a contest.

Banneker's average SAT scores reported last years are LOWER than the national average, for goodness sake. Think about that. (Free SAT test prep is offered at Banneker, for the naysayers who quick to announce that SAT scores only reflect the ability to pay for the Kaplan review course)

So, sure, Banneker should probably be in the mix for parents of conscientious students of all skin tones. But to wrinkle your nose at Wilson (academies) in comparing the two is just ... confusing.

I think this goes deeper than Banneker. Kids of color in general do less poorly than whites. It is something that I am really confused about. When I took the LSAT many years ago, it was said that your LSAT reflects how you will do on the bar exam. I bombed the LSAT. Thank God I had good grades. I did great on the bar. Two completely different types of tests. Honestly, I don't know if it's exposure of what.

What I do know, is that kids from Bannanker get into really great colleges and excel there. That means that the SAT is not a good indicator of how well students will actually do in college. It's also why some great colleges have stopped accepting the SAT scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White DCPS parent here. I asked a Black parent of my kid's friend (who grew up in DC) this. She advised against my kid applying/going and in fact said she wouldn't think of sending her kid there. Her reasons were more class than race: Bannaker, she says, is seen "for the have-nots" and well-off kids in general won't be welcomed.
But I agree with PP. Let's put it to the test and have all the kids who want an academically challenging school apply. Then we'll see for sure if indeed white families are still allergic to that neighborhood or if Banneker won't admit the percent of qualified non-AA who do apply....

She gave you poor advice. I attended SWW but my counterparts at Banneker were mostly middle class (with educated parents) in the late 90s. There were also some students from well-to-do families (parents millionaires), though I doubt you would be able to tell the difference. I know a family in the latter category whose eldest graduated a few years ago and my guess is their youngest will attend.

I chose SWW over Banneker (my parents' preferred school) because I wanted more "freedom". Banneker didn't seem as fun.

Yeah when we went to the Banneker very impressive open house - held on a Saturday with lots of teachers and students in attendance, the students all talked about how much work they had to do. Those kids really had to knuckle down. I think it scared my white kid. I would have been very happy if she had wanted to go to Banneker. Banneker seemed to me to be much more like a strict private school than anything else.

[Anonymous]

I ama black parent here and I;ve notice that white or mixed race couples really overthink this issue and externalize the discussion. My son went to Langdon A fantastic school where he finish Kindergarden reading at a 2nd level. He has also been in diverse environment where there were many pluses and some minuses at times in terms of a 'less than' expectation around African American students such as some of thos thinly veiled in this thred.
Rather than asking if there are any white children, perhaps you should ask yourselves how can I and my friends have our children in school programs that are good for them and contribute to diversifying their educational experience. Also get together a critical mass of folks and apply together and talk to the principal about being intentional in your goals.

[Anonymous]

Why gentrification doesn't count:

The idea of gentrification is that the neighborhood will change, possibly to look/be more like you. There's a huge difference between moving into a neighborhood with no expectation of it changing from its current form. It's another to move because its become 'the' place to move or because large groups of people of your same ethnic or socioeconomic group are moving in (and you won't be the only one for long).