Reply to Chancellor's Brown v Board message to parents

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Reply to "Chancellor's Brown v Board message to parents"

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[quote=jsteele]Has it really escaped the notice of all of you that a large number of DCPS schools are either almost all white or almost all black? That's segregation. If every neighborhood school were improved to be world class, the schools would almost all still be segregated. This has less to do with DCPS than does with housing patterns. As long people of different races don't live in the same neighborhoods, neighborhood schools won't be racially integrated. With socio-economic boundaries roughly mirroring racial boundaries, the same is true for socio-economic integration.

From what I've observed (including in this thread), folks in both neighborhoods with the highest performing schools and neighborhoods with the lowest performing schools dread diversity. At the high-performing end because of concern that diversity will result in lower quality of schools and at the lower-performing end due to fear that the gentrification that accompanies diversity will have a negative impact. (For an example of the second case -- though not at one of the lowest performing schools -- see posts by our resident Eastern booster who frequently harangues on the "stroller brigade").

Charter schools have been much more successful in creating diverse schools by providing educational opportunities that attract residents from across the racial and socio-economic spectrum. However, in most circumstances, attending a charter involves leaving your neighborhood.

So, obviously, there is no perfect solution to addressing the segregated situation in which we now find ourselves. Right now, it appears that you can have good schools, you can have diverse schools, and you can have diverse schools. You just can't have a good, diverse, neighborhood school. That's not something a decision by Kaya Henderson will easily change.
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