I don't want my kid to be the only white student . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're right, PP. Your post makes me think about the all-AA teaching staff and K+ voting out all the white officers of the new PTA at Payne ES on Capitol Hill almost a year ago. The PTA has only been up and running for a year at the time. The group was rolling with white and biracial leadership, parents of kids in the first racially diverse PreS3 group, which AA stakeholders so resented that they staged a take-over. The PTA hasn't met since, and every former white officer will be gone by the summer (no whites staying for K, let alone elementary grades). The school remains almost entirely AA (a touch Latino) above PreK4, and failing, with awful test scores. So darn depressing, and predictable.

Wow, there are so many problems with your post. A group of parents join a school, and even though they only have kids at one grade level, they stage a take over of the PTA. They describe a parent organization that only serves 1/8 of the grades in the school as "rolling". These same parents clearly don't value the students currently in the school, given that they refer to the demographic in the older grades as "darn depressing". They seem to think that raising test scores, not by actually helping students, or serving them better, but by swapping out kids for demographics more likely to succeed is the same thing as "improving" the school.

When the parents of kids in the older grades, as well as the teachers who love and serve them, respond by trying to take on leadership roles in the program they are described as staging a "take-over" and accused of racism. The irony is enormous. Thank god the racist white parents left!

But apparently the PTA is no longer functioning and does not meet. So how has this AA coup helped the school exactly?

A PTA that serves a small minority of students, is a far bigger problem for a school than a non-existent PTA.

REALLY??? Wow.

+1. Can see why everyone who could leave, left. So everything is still the status quo with scores in the toilet? Hurray for the winners in the now non-existent PTA wars!

You do realize that the solution to low test scores, isn't to replace or dilute the low scoring kids with affluent white kids. The only solution that counts is one where the same kids, or their little siblings, actually improve their performance.

That isn't to say, that increasing the socio-economic diversity at a school can't be part of the solution. If affluent families join a school, with the aim of really joining the community, making friends, volunteering and supporting all the students in the class, and advocating for and financially supporting changes that support all students, it can be a good thing.

But that begins with forming relationships, respecting the existing community, and coming to the table ready to learn and not just assuming your role is to teach. Without these things, the result is simply that kids who desperately need PS and PK spaces will lose them to affluent outsiders, and a white PTA that's out of touch with the community the school serves will advocate for policies that serve a tiny sliver of the population.

So the old timers got upset that the new prek3 and prek4 parents came in and tried to get things done without consulting them. How dare they! So they banded together to throw the interlopers out and immediately resumed "the way it's always been": doing Nothing... No PTA, nothing. Well done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid was the only white student in her class last year. We blithely assumed she would be fine, because kids are color blind, right? She ate alone every day. She told me (and the teacher confirmed) that she tried to join the other children at recess but was rebuffed. More than once, she came home crying because another elementary school child told her to take her "white ass" and get lost. (Well, the first time, she asked me what "ass" meant, because she had never heard it before.) We stuck it out through the rest of the year, but changed schools this past fall. Her new classroom has a good mix of kids, and a great inclusive vibe; she has many friends in her class, not just white kids. Any kind of homogeny is bad for the "only".

But you might not be aware of that tendency, because there are lots of stupid bitches around, so you've always been in good company.

I'm so sorry that this happened to you daughter. That's great that she is in a more welcoming and inclusive school now.

However, I'm not surprised by this at all. I grew up in a multiracial family and I attended DCPS. I've experienced lots of racism from black students. My parents transfered me to a predominately white Catholic school. I never had any racial problems at my Catholic school. It was a great fit for me. The problem is that DC is still a very segregated city. Unfortunately, behind closed doors some blacks in DC do resent whites and teach that hate to their children. Even though the city paints itself as being liberal, I find some of the folks in DC to be extremely close-minded. Now that I'm an adult I notice how open whites in DC are to my biracial children and how hostile some of the black people are. So, your daughter's situation is one of the many incidents against diversity and change in this city. There is a level of resistance in DC towards racial integration and diversity that I can't seem to fathom. Hopefully, things will get better and people will be more open to accepting others.

By the way, I wish your daughter lots of luck at her new school.

I think a big part of the resentment is economic -- it's low-income, predominantly AA people being pushed out of their neighborhoods by gentrification. The gentrification doesn't help them because it doesn't necessarily open up economic opportunity for them, but rather it pushes them into ever-shrinking sections of the city, making their housing more expensive without any increase in income.

It's not like the hatred just comes out of nowhere. And it isn't just about historic racism/segregation -- it's about the segregation that is going on right now with all of the gentrification.

I don't know what the resolution is. And I don't think hating white people is going to help the situation for the AA community. But I would say that I think the issue is more socio-economic than race. That's why the parents who put their kids into private schools that are mixed don't have the same problems -- because the AA kids at those schools are middle or upper class kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're right, PP. Your post makes me think about the all-AA teaching staff and K+ voting out all the white officers of the new PTA at Payne ES on Capitol Hill almost a year ago. The PTA has only been up and running for a year at the time. The group was rolling with white and biracial leadership, parents of kids in the first racially diverse PreS3 group, which AA stakeholders so resented that they staged a take-over. The PTA hasn't met since, and every former white officer will be gone by the summer (no whites staying for K, let alone elementary grades). The school remains almost entirely AA (a touch Latino) above PreK4, and failing, with awful test scores. So darn depressing, and predictable.

Wow, there are so many problems with your post. A group of parents join a school, and even though they only have kids at one grade level, they stage a take over of the PTA. They describe a parent organization that only serves 1/8 of the grades in the school as "rolling". These same parents clearly don't value the students currently in the school, given that they refer to the demographic in the older grades as "darn depressing". They seem to think that raising test scores, not by actually helping students, or serving them better, but by swapping out kids for demographics more likely to succeed is the same thing as "improving" the school.

When the parents of kids in the older grades, as well as the teachers who love and serve them, respond by trying to take on leadership roles in the program they are described as staging a "take-over" and accused of racism. The irony is enormous. Thank god the racist white parents left!

But apparently the PTA is no longer functioning and does not meet. So how has this AA coup helped the school exactly?

A PTA that serves a small minority of students, is a far bigger problem for a school than a non-existent PTA.

and with these words you really qualify who you are (and the motivation of the people like you who "took on leadership roles" to the limited extent necessary to destroy an active PTA - if these parents and teachers really loved the kids, instead of protecting their turf from "white outsiders", they would be now working their a$$ off in the new PTA for their kids and school, but apparently they reached their goal, mission accomplished, no need for PTA meetings. and if you read the poster you are commenting more carefully, the poster said that the situation of the school, with failing grades, awful scores was darn depressing, she/he never referred to the demographic of the higher grades as darn depressing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid was the only white student in her class last year. We blithely assumed she would be fine, because kids are color blind, right? She ate alone every day. She told me (and the teacher confirmed) that she tried to join the other children at recess but was rebuffed. More than once, she came home crying because another elementary school child told her to take her "white ass" and get lost. (Well, the first time, she asked me what "ass" meant, because she had never heard it before.) We stuck it out through the rest of the year, but changed schools this past fall. Her new classroom has a good mix of kids, and a great inclusive vibe; she has many friends in her class, not just white kids. Any kind of homogeny is bad for the "only".

But you might not be aware of that tendency, because there are lots of stupid bitches around, so you've always been in good company.

I disagree that any kind of homogeny is bad for the only. Frankly, I think being the only black kid at an otherwise all-white schools is probably easier, since no white child would dare tell a black child to "take your black ass and get lost." White children, frankly, do not speak that way.

White children in DC don't, maybe, but there's a whoooole lot of 'em in the rest of the country that do.

But this is DCUM and we're talking about DC, not the rest of the country. And, honestly, except for some locales, I cannot think of a single place where a white child would speak like that.

White children in DC speak that way too, I've heard them on the metro screaming their heads off at their nannies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That kid was not necessary even being rood. Aa english is different from mainstream english that you are familiar with.

What?? This is BS. I am AA, and very mainstream, and rude is rude. We do not have some sort of 'hood pass' for profanity. Don't let the media fool you, somewhere there are some AA grandmothers whose heads are lowered in shame for kids (and adults) who speak this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're right, PP. Your post makes me think about the all-AA teaching staff and K+ voting out all the white officers of the new PTA at Payne ES on Capitol Hill almost a year ago. The PTA has only been up and running for a year at the time. The group was rolling with white and biracial leadership, parents of kids in the first racially diverse PreS3 group, which AA stakeholders so resented that they staged a take-over. The PTA hasn't met since, and every former white officer will be gone by the summer (no whites staying for K, let alone elementary grades). The school remains almost entirely AA (a touch Latino) above PreK4, and failing, with awful test scores. So darn depressing, and predictable.

Wow, there are so many problems with your post. A group of parents join a school, and even though they only have kids at one grade level, they stage a take over of the PTA. They describe a parent organization that only serves 1/8 of the grades in the school as "rolling". These same parents clearly don't value the students currently in the school, given that they refer to the demographic in the older grades as "darn depressing". They seem to think that raising test scores, not by actually helping students, or serving them better, but by swapping out kids for demographics more likely to succeed is the same thing as "improving" the school.

When the parents of kids in the older grades, as well as the teachers who love and serve them, respond by trying to take on leadership roles in the program they are described as staging a "take-over" and accused of racism. The irony is enormous. Thank god the racist white parents left!

can you please identify in details the actions taken by the PTA based on which you state that the PTA was serving only 1/8 of the grades? really curious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're right, PP. Your post makes me think about the all-AA teaching staff and K+ voting out all the white officers of the new PTA at Payne ES on Capitol Hill almost a year ago. The PTA has only been up and running for a year at the time. The group was rolling with white and biracial leadership, parents of kids in the first racially diverse PreS3 group, which AA stakeholders so resented that they staged a take-over. The PTA hasn't met since, and every former white officer will be gone by the summer (no whites staying for K, let alone elementary grades). The school remains almost entirely AA (a touch Latino) above PreK4, and failing, with awful test scores. So darn depressing, and predictable.

Wow, there are so many problems with your post. A group of parents join a school, and even though they only have kids at one grade level, they stage a take over of the PTA. They describe a parent organization that only serves 1/8 of the grades in the school as "rolling". These same parents clearly don't value the students currently in the school, given that they refer to the demographic in the older grades as "darn depressing". They seem to think that raising test scores, not by actually helping students, or serving them better, but by swapping out kids for demographics more likely to succeed is the same thing as "improving" the school.

When the parents of kids in the older grades, as well as the teachers who love and serve them, respond by trying to take on leadership roles in the program they are described as staging a "take-over" and accused of racism. The irony is enormous. Thank god the racist white parents left!

can you please identify in details the actions taken by the PTA based on which you state that the PTA was serving only 1/8 of the grades? really curious

I'm the PP right above you, and I can't give you any details. I'm only going based on what was in the post above. I would assume that if the PTA was all white people, and there were only white children in one grade, PS3 (note, I can't corroborate this, this is based on the post at the top, not anything I know) then they come from one of the 8 grades in the school.

It might be that the poster on top was wrong, but that's where I got my info.

I would not want the PTA of my child's school to only draw from one race, or from one grade. If there was a PTA election and the candidates were that limited, I'd expect a PTA that valued all the children in the school to delay the election until they had solved the problem of putting together an electorate that was representative of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid was the only white student in her class last year. We blithely assumed she would be fine, because kids are color blind, right? She ate alone every day. She told me (and the teacher confirmed) that she tried to join the other children at recess but was rebuffed. More than once, she came home crying because another elementary school child told her to take her "white ass" and get lost. (Well, the first time, she asked me what "ass" meant, because she had never heard it before.) We stuck it out through the rest of the year, but changed schools this past fall. Her new classroom has a good mix of kids, and a great inclusive vibe; she has many friends in her class, not just white kids. Any kind of homogeny is bad for the "only".

But you might not be aware of that tendency, because there are lots of stupid bitches around, so you've always been in good company.

I disagree that any kind of homogeny is bad for the only. Frankly, I think being the only black kid at an otherwise all-white schools is probably easier, since no white child would dare tell a black child to "take your black ass and get lost." White children, frankly, do not speak that way.

White children in DC don't, maybe, but there's a whoooole lot of 'em in the rest of the country that do.

probably this. I agree that being the only anything at any school would be bad. particularly the only white or only AA. I'm not sure which would be worse.

[Anonymous]

My kid was mocked mercilessly and very isolated at Thomson. I found that while we were a different race the bigger issue was language ie she did not speak Spanish. Kids know when they can get away with it & when adults will just ignore whatever the race or class. It is why schools have to be willing to talk about difference beyond just race.

[Anonymous]

The old guard in DCPS will be difficult to go against. It's like trying to fight the southern bigots who were against school desegregation. Anyone attempting to do this should know that you have your work cut out for you. I'm going to be honest and let you know the real deal. Some blacks in DC don't like white people. They resent gentrification, they resent white families moving in their neighborhoods, and they resent white children attending DCPS. Some are even resistant towards middle and upper class blacks because they feel as though we are "sellouts." I know many white liberals have this utopia mindset and they value multiculturalism. However, know that many blacks in DC don't have this utopia mindset and are very much against change. Some blacks like the segregated DCPS. They're fearful of whites coming into "their" schools. They like the status quo and the dysfunctionalism that comes along with it. The victim and "I hate whitey" mentality is a vicious cycle to break in the black community. I hear more opposition against diversity or change from blacks in DC than I do whites. I often hear all the time, "The man is trying to keep us down" or "white people are trying to take over." So, it's difficult to fight this type of mentality because it's a generational thing that is pass down from grandparents to parents to their children. I'm AA and even I have to admit sometimes that we are our own worst enemies. For a school to not have a thriving PTA is ridiculous. For a school to ignore racist bullying is even more disturbing. If DCPS don't get their act together, then many families both black and white will seek better options for their children rather it's private or parochial schools. Some will leave the city all together for Fairfax or Montgomery County Schools. It will take lots of patient families to overcome the storms and obstacles of DCPS in regards to race relations. It's just disheartening that in 2013 we're still talking about school desegregation in Washington DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: If DCPS don't get their act together, then many families both black and white will seek better options for their children rather it's private or parochial schools. Some will leave the city all together for Fairfax or Montgomery County Schools. It will take lots of patient families to overcome the storms and obstacles of DCPS in regards to race relations. It's just disheartening that in 2013 we're still talking about school desegregation in Washington DC.

Don't forget charter schools.

[Anonymous]

So the old timers got upset that the new prek3 and prek4 parents came in and tried to get things done without consulting them. How dare they! So they banded together to throw the interlopers out and immediately resumed "the way it's always been": doing Nothing... No PTA, nothing. Well done.

The Payne PTA, when it functioned--AY 2011-2012--invited everyone and their mother to get involved, and met regularly. Nobody much came but upper-middle-class parents (of various races) until the 2nd elections meeting, a year ago. That meeting was loaded with teachers and low-SES parents who turned up to vote the white and biracial yuppie leadership out, and never returned. Principal Marcus couldn't do a thing. Two years ago, you had a cohort of high-SES parents considering staying for K. To my knowledge, none currently plans to. Payne's test scores remain the lowest on the Hill. Walk behind the school to see the mess the playground has become since the PTA ceased to be, trash everywhere. This year, 21 on the PreS3 wait list, more last year. The garbage by the jungle gym doesn't lengthen the list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're right, PP. Your post makes me think about the all-AA teaching staff and K+ voting out all the white officers of the new PTA at Payne ES on Capitol Hill almost a year ago. The PTA has only been up and running for a year at the time. The group was rolling with white and biracial leadership, parents of kids in the first racially diverse PreS3 group, which AA stakeholders so resented that they staged a take-over. The PTA hasn't met since, and every former white officer will be gone by the summer (no whites staying for K, let alone elementary grades). The school remains almost entirely AA (a touch Latino) above PreK4, and failing, with awful test scores. So darn depressing, and predictable.

Wow, there are so many problems with your post. A group of parents join a school, and even though they only have kids at one grade level, they stage a take over of the PTA. They describe a parent organization that only serves 1/8 of the grades in the school as "rolling". These same parents clearly don't value the students currently in the school, given that they refer to the demographic in the older grades as "darn depressing". They seem to think that raising test scores, not by actually helping students, or serving them better, but by swapping out kids for demographics more likely to succeed is the same thing as "improving" the school.

When the parents of kids in the older grades, as well as the teachers who love and serve them, respond by trying to take on leadership roles in the program they are described as staging a "take-over" and accused of racism. The irony is enormous. Thank god the racist white parents left!

But apparently the PTA is no longer functioning and does not meet. So how has this AA coup helped the school exactly?

A PTA that serves a small minority of students, is a far bigger problem for a school than a non-existent PTA.

REALLY??? Wow.

Please remember that some quotes like this are just trolls trying to stir the pot, or even serious trolls on one side of the argument trying to make the other side look hateful. Don't know who this poster is, but I do know it's very possible this person doesn't really believe this but thinks the other side does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The old guard in DCPS will be difficult to go against. It's like trying to fight the southern bigots who were against school desegregation. Anyone attempting to do this should know that you have your work cut out for you. I'm going to be honest and let you know the real deal. Some blacks in DC don't like white people. They resent gentrification, they resent white families moving in their neighborhoods, and they resent white children attending DCPS. Some are even resistant towards middle and upper class blacks because they feel as though we are "sellouts." I know many white liberals have this utopia mindset and they value multiculturalism. However, know that many blacks in DC don't have this utopia mindset and are very much against change. Some blacks like the segregated DCPS. They're fearful of whites coming into "their" schools. They like the status quo and the dysfunctionalism that comes along with it. The victim and "I hate whitey" mentality is a vicious cycle to break in the black community. I hear more opposition against diversity or change from blacks in DC than I do whites. I often hear all the time, "The man is trying to keep us down" or "white people are trying to take over." So, it's difficult to fight this type of mentality because it's a generational thing that is pass down from grandparents to parents to their children. I'm AA and even I have to admit sometimes that we are our own worst enemies. For a school to not have a thriving PTA is ridiculous. For a school to ignore racist bullying is even more disturbing. If DCPS don't get their act together, then many families both black and white will seek better options for their children rather it's private or parochial schools. Some will leave the city all together for Fairfax or Montgomery County Schools. It will take lots of patient families to overcome the storms and obstacles of DCPS in regards to race relations. It's just disheartening that in 2013 we're still talking about school desegregation in Washington DC.

How many black people do you actually know? It's like bed bath and beyond up in here with all those blanket statements.

[Anonymous]

I am going to guess the number of "black people...you actually know" is at least the one he/she sees in the mirror each morning, since PP writes: "Some are even resistant towards *middle and upper class blacks* because they feel as though *we* are "sellouts."

Doesn't excuse the PP's blanket statements, but makes the implication of you accusation of the PP hard to defend.