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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I swear, white people complain about everything! This is embarrassing!  Homeschool your kids if you’re afraid to have them around a diverse group of kids.[/quote]

People are actually talking about lack of diversity. A school that is 84% black, 8% white, 6% Latino, and 2% AAPI? Not diverse. This is like saying that a black family who chooses not to send their children to the 90% white charter school are "afraid of diversity." They are afraid that their child will not fit in or feel welcome. Come on.[/quote]

There are no schools that are 90% white in DC, but lots that are 90-99% black. Just to clarify.[/quote]

Is anyone on the thread confused about that? That's specifically why PP's complaint that white parents are "afraid to have [their kids] around a diverse group of kids" is weird. If you are a white parent in DC public schools (DCPS or charter) you, by definition, are comfortable with the idea of diversity in schools. Of course there are parents who gravitate towards the schools that are 60-70% white (which do exist) and if you want to target those parents for that choice, that's one thing. But generally the issue is just a parent not wanting their kid to be the only white kid in a class, or only one of two (we have been in this situation, FTR).

I have a friend in a different part of the country who I explained these dynamics to and she couldn't relate. Her kid goes to a diverse public school in another urban area that is about 30% white, 30% non-white Hispanic, and maybe 20% black. When she described the racial dynamics (most kids have at least one friend of another race, the school does a lot of multi-cultural events and it's not just head-nodding at different groups -- they are represented by students and staff and families at the events) I felt very jealous. That's what a truly diverse school would look like. But in DC, because so many white parents choose private or head to the suburbs, and there is a lot of self-segregation among POC groups, it's just not like that and probably never will be. You have to adjust your expectations as far as diverse environments.[/quote]

Huh? 
Deal, the whitest DCPS middle schook, is only 46% white, 28% black,  16% hispanic. https://www.dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0405
Hardy is 40% black, 32% white, 18% hispanic.  https://www.dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0246/profile

Sounds exactly the same. I'm not sure where you live, but it sounds like you have small kids and don't actually know the profiles of DC schools.[/quote]

No, I just don't live in the Deal-Wilson pyramid. That's great if you can afford to either live IB for Deal or get in my lottery. The vast majority of DC students can't do either, which leaves the remaining DCPS MSs (which are not diverse at all), or charters. The charters are significantly more diverse. One reason many white parents in DC choose charters over their by-right MS is that they don't want their kid to be one of only a handful of white kids. Finding true diversity in DCPS is quite hard.

Perhaps you need to acquaint yourself with the demographics of DC schools outside of upper NW before weighing in on this.[/quote]

You just said there are not truly diverse schools in DC like the one your friend sends her kids to. I just showed you that you are incorrect.

Then you are arguing that "the charters are significantly more diverse" ok. So those also meet your criteria.

Fundamentally, only around 25% of DC's kids are white, so I'm just not sure how you would expect true diversity at every DCPS school. [/quote]

I never said there are no diverse schools in DC. I said that the PP (maybe you) who said white parents are afraid of diversity was incorrect, since white parents are not looking for white schools, they are just looking for schools where their kid is not the only white kid, or not just one of a few. They are looking for diversity, not afraid of it.

Your response was that Deal is diverse. Yes. And also not an option for most people in the city. As you yourself point out, Deal is the most diverse MS in DCPS, by a lot. Hardy has similar demographics. So the two MS in the Wilson pyramid attract a lot of white kids, which means that if you live in any other part of the city, the MSs are significantly less diverse. You seem to think this proves your point but it actually proves mine -- true diversity is hard to come by in DCPS.

I'm not "arguing" that charter MSs are more diverse. They are more diverse than most DCPS MSs (including pretty much all MSs outside the Wilson pyramid). This isn't some nefarious accusation. It's a demographic fact.

I also never said I expected schools in DC to all be truly diverse. I don't expect anything. I'm simply describing the situation, which is that much of the racial diversity in DC public schools has migrated to charters, especially at the MS and HS level.

My kid doesn't even go to a charter.

I have no idea why you are being so hostile. I'm just describing the situation, which is not a bunch of white parents cowering from diversity. That was an inaccurate description of what is going on, and I corrected it.[/quote]

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