Reply to Study: "Discussions of D.C. public school options in an online forum" (yes, this one)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The Nice White Parents podcast is helpful on paradigm setting.

Yes, go to your local schools.

No, don’t act like you are a “pioneer” or own or direct them just because you are part of the class with money, ability to donate or fundraise, etc.

Act like you’re joining a group project that needs effort but NOT a new boss! Be helpful not screamy. Don’t show up and then try to create a new magic cohort for your child on day 2. Join, reach out, etc.[/quote]

Here's my issue with this:

In DC, your "local" school might be Garrison or Deal or Ludlow-Taylor or another well-regarded DCPS. Going to a school like that and not getting a white savior complex is honestly pretty easy.

But if your IB is a genuinely struggling DCPS, it is much, much harder said than done. If you go to a school with high truancy rates, broken facilities, and a completely unfunded PTA, how do you navigate this as a "nice white parent" who both doesn't want special treatment for your kid but does want a baseline level of quality in your kids education. You aren't advocating for a brand new bilingual program or a G&T program that is really just a way to self-segregate the white kids or whatever. But can you advocate for anything without being seen as a "pioneer"? Is your job to accept the quality of your local school even if it impacts your kid? Even if no one in your kid's class reads at grade level?

So many of the people I know who say "Just got to your local school and don't play white savior" go to schools that are already heavily gentrified. Do you really know what it's like to send your kid to a truly struggling DCPS? I'm talking about the schools that can't even fill their classes with IB parents because so many local parents (of every race) simply lottery out. Do you actually know what that looks like?

I don't think you do, or you wouldn't talk about this like it's easy. It's not. It sucks. You are simply rich enough to live IB for a good school. Sure, your school might be diverse and might have a sizable at-risk population. That is very different than being at a school where 90%+ are at-risk. You have no idea.[/quote]

The other problem I have with this is that the whole theory for why integration improves educational quality is precisely because affluent parents can advocate to improve, and in DC at least, can actually directly fund improvements at schools. It seems frankly insane to argue that the only way to be is to enroll in a poorly performing school, and then do nothing to help it? Plus, the advocacy is with the school administration and DCPS - which is a system we're all part of; there's nothing pioneering about it.  This kind of advocacy benefits everybody as long as parents are minimally attentive to the needs of the school as a whole. Sure there are examples of PTAs doing eye-rolling stuff (like fixating on after school snacks) but overall the DC PTAs do things like fund teachers' aides, which benefits everyone. I think I remember hearing that at Brent the PTA funded a behavioral tech, which can be a HUGE huge benefit to the whole school.  [/quote]

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