Reply to Would you put your white kid in KIPP or Center City?

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Reply to "Would you put your white kid in KIPP or Center City?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm another white nearly only for PK - 6th grade.

Short answer: I am fine. It didn't solve all my problems. I still have lots of run-of-the-mill internalized racism of the well-intentioned white liberal. And as soon as I hit an almost all-white middle school (divorced parents, new district), I got totally used to being in the white super-majority.

Having actual friendships with a bunch of different kinds of black girls improved my emotional intelligence and ability to hang out with / show up for my non-white colleagues.

At core, I'd say, the class education my middle-class self got in a rust-belt Title 1 school was probably more lasting than any racial awareness / thoughtfulness I developed. Probably because I got to practice crossing those lines (or leaving well enough alone) for a lot longer.

I think I'd look for all the things you'd look for in any school: Does my kid's teacher know my kid? Does she or he have my kid's number? Is my kid excited about school?

AND! If you do end up in a school where your kid is an "only/ one of 2", spend a little time reading up on white fragility, etc in schools--lots of white parents (like me) come on into a school set to change it, make some promises, and then bail when change doesn't happen in the way they want it to. Which burns off the energy & significance of the work black and latino parents may be putting in.

Which doesn't feel like disrespect when you're doing it--again, first hand experience here. It feels like helping. It's not your fault that white voices echo more loudly.

But they do. So if you're coming into a school as a minority, get ready to listen and follow; lots of schools have been burned by well-intentioned white savior types. (Sorry to lecture! But it's a thing! And white parents can lead other white parents more effectively than black parents who sometimes have higher priorities than dealing w my / others' white nonsense.)[/quote]

Good advice.  But as a practical matter ... we're looking at a middle school that got 1 star.  I think to turn it around it in fact WILL take a dose of white savior types (or lets just say educated UMC savior types - our elementary school is significantly multiethnic.)  There's really nobody to listen to or follow, so if its gonna work, everyone is going to have to take initiative and leadership. To me, the duty in this circumstance is to reach out to all parents and all kids to make sure that their voices are heard, not dampening the white voice.  [/quote]

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