Reply to New Report on Racial and Economic Diversity in DC public and charter schools

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Reply to "New Report on Racial and Economic Diversity in DC public and charter schools"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You didn't ask the question at all.  By implication, I guess your answer is there aren't enough white families in DC to effectively integrate schools outside of the areas that they actually live, and even in those areas the overall numbers of white students are not high.  Assuming "integration" remains your goal (and I'd volunteer that "integration" as a goal is actually a red herring if you care about education) -- your solution is...?[/quote]

Not sure which PP you're responding to, but I don't think the issue is identical for every area of the city and every school.  For example, many Ward 6 elementary schools are admirably integrated, as white families are willing to send their kids to neighborhood schools; so are some charters.  The issue there is integration of the MS and HS.  Any place white parents are opting out of their feeder pattern is an issue to be addressed (if you care about diversity!).  And, it can't be addressed by just calling white parents racist (I'm looking at you Nikole Hannah Jones). You have to proactively bring in the UMC families with programming and engagement.  At the same time, some Ward 6 elementary schools still to not reflect the neighborhood except in PK (Payne, Miner, JOW, Tyler, eventually Amidon-Bowen.) That's also a diversity issue to be addressed through engaging white parents productively.  A thornier issue is re-zoning overcrowded HS and MS like Deal and Wilson.  There, white parents are basically totally against "losing" what they think they have the right to.  I'm not sure how to deal with that issue.  Where integration doesn't seem to be an answer is the all-black high at-risk schools in all-black neighborhoods.  At-risk set aside seats in integrated schools is a partial answer;  but not the whole answer.  There, I don't think you can expect "integration" to do all the work.  [/quote]

This is one of the best posts I have seen on this issue.  Bravo.  It's much more complex and nuanaced

Stuart Hobson is beginning to get more diverse by offering advanced programming.  Of course the advanced programming is much whiter than the overall school population.  So you have diversity in the building but not in individual classrooms which doesn't really accomplish anything.

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I would disagree that diversity in the building isn't an accomplishment. Proximity and interaction matter, even if not on subject matter content. Also, don't forget that there are classes where you will naturally get a mix of students across background "ability" levels, e.g., PE, art, music, foreign language, as well as lunch, passing in the halls (and don't forget teenagers - checking out other sullen but attractive teenagers).[/quote]

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