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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
If one skew is justifiable then so is the other.  The pushback on G&T programs given everything else out there really doesn't hold water.  And reading through this thread, looks like every other argument against G&T has also been blown out of the water.

It's time, DCPS needs to move forward with this.[/quote]

Let's stop violently agreeing with one another. People on this thread are trying to explain why DC does not have such programs DESPITE there being no principled argument against them.

Across the country, white and especially asian kids are over-represented in G&T relative to the general population, and black and hispanic are under-represented. This would be even more pronounced in DC where the white/black achievement gap is the largest in the country. (we are not talking about genetics here, so please, no more trolling. we are talking about who gets accepted into G&T programs for whatever reasons.)

I imagine in San Francisco this is not a political problem, because the majority of the population is white or asian anyway, so the racial composition of the G&T programs more or less reflects the general population. In Fairfax, with Jefferson 50% asian and the rest white (less than 4% black or hispanic), it doesn't seem to be a political problem.  But in DC, this would be a political problem. The majority of public school families and Democratic Party primary voters are African American.

This city does not have easy race relations. There is fear/resentment about gentrification, "The Plan", being "pushed out". The Post recently published some polling results showing the racial divide. A strong majority of white voters polled believed they would benefit from the changes happening in DC. Whereas a (small) majority of African Americans believed the opposite. These voters believe that the city's (black) leaders are abandoning them. We can debate the objective truth or falsehood of these beliefs but these are the polling results and if there is anything that captures a politician's attention it is polling results.

So when the mayor poses for that photo opportunity in front of the new G&T class, with all those white/asian faces, how is that going to play out in this broader context? Will the mayor be praised for improving the school system? Or will he be labeled a "sell-out", "out of touch", and suffer Fenty's fate?

Think about why it would have been politically impossible to introduce a streetcar on H St without simultaneously introducing one in Anacostia, as they have done.

On a more positive note, maybe the streetcar example shows us the way forward. If a G&T program were introduced simultaneously with measures expected to benefit Wards 7/8, it might have a chance of success.

[/quote]

Pessimism vs. optimism.  Gentrification and development brings jobs, economic opportunities, tax base and better infrastructure, and other things that benefit all across the board.   It's exactly the "rising tide to lift all boats" that everyone keeps saying is needed to help the poor in DC.   But instead there's been divisive rhetoric and "us vs. them" which has been destructive and counterproductive.  Politics at its worst.  [/quote]

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