Reply to Application Middle School

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Application Middle School"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Seems like an impossible political pickle.

Any application/test-in program with admissions geared toward high performing MS students will likely be disproportionately filled with upper-SES white and Asian students, much like Fairfax's AAP program.  That's the really ugly reality of where the history or race and class has led our society.  I'm sure that will continue to shift over time, but it's what we're stuck with now.  No one at DCPS or in the Mayor's office wants a student body that doesn't look like DC in terms of race, maybe in part because they see benefits for students from working in a more diverse student body, and also surely in part because of the political headaches that would come from labeling a bunch of predominantly white and Asian rich kids as the "gifted and talented" of DCPS.

[b]To be blunt, what DCPS really needs is a way to set aside a quota of seats for qualified black and Latino students, but the Republicans on the Supreme Court have blocked that approach to affirmative action.  [/b]So the only way I can see it happening is if DCPS can somehow massage the process to create an appropriate level of diversity.  One option is to adjust the application process with interviews that just happen to create enough subjective assessment that allows DCPS to set aside seats.  Another option is to locate the school far away from Wards 3 & 4, so the geographic hurdle discourages enough white and Asian applicants.  A third option I can think of would be create one school that exists on 3-4 campuses spread around the city.  Each campus would likely attract a different mix of races/ethnicities, and no one campus would look like DC's demographics.  But DCPS could treat them as one campus for political optics, and in fact could structure the school in a way that fosters lots of communication and coordination among the campuses.  I actually could imagine a program like that working well for everyone and leading to some really meaningful interactions that accomplish the best aims of diversity.

Interesting problem.  I think there are some possible solutions, but I seriously doubt Mayor Bowser or many other politicians in DC have the guts to try them.[/quote]

Honestly that sort of blame throwing isn't helpful, there's plenty to go around.  One could easily and correctly say that everything that happens in DCPS lies squarely in the laps of Democrats who've been happy with the Teacher Union status quo (not to mention every single apparatus of DC's municipal government has been in the hands of the Democrat machine for decades and look where that's gotten us).[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics