Ok several posts asked about why guinea pig versus trail blaze? Why does it matter if there is only one or two? In my mind trail blaze is reserved for those who helped de-segregate schools by force in difficult circumstances. Frankly the rest of us are stumbling around trying to figure out what our past says about future and I mean that for all folks of all races and classes, because no one is immune to racist feelings or inclinations. I did try to do a school where my daughter was the only white kid, even kindergartners were just plain mean in how they treated my child. Constantly she was told to shut up because she would not know because it was a "black thing." She was not invited to anyone's events, but told about them after. Some of it was the way extended families work in this area, much of it was these kids really did not see a white kid lasting so why try. I also struggled with all the inappropriate grammar she kept picking up. I did not see the teachers correcting any of the kids grammar and I did not want my child normalizing it. I have seen people not hired because their grammar and it matters. This was kindergarten, no we did not fit in and I was not going to fight the tide. I needed to put my energy into my kid and paying the mortgage. There was no way I could change this school or these kids too strong of societal pressures. Figured out the lottery and still in a diverse school but the class of the kids is just a lot higher.

I have a mixed race child and always check "mixed" if available or all the applicable races, 3 in DC's case, and have always wondered how she is counted for the school's demographics. So not sure at all how the school calls it since she's not counted for all three races.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Statistically according to national studies most white middle class parents seek schools with no more than 20% minorities. Frankly how that is possible given demographic shifts I cant fathom, but that is what I heard in documentaries. Personally I look for my white kid to represent about 30% of the school meaning she will be one of 3-4 other white kids in the class. I have done less and it has not been an easy experience as much an issue of class as otherwise but kids see and act on race more often than we like to think.

As a white person who is very happy living in a very mixed neighborhood in DC, I'm going to state the obvious. It's not about race, it's about SES. I'm totally fine with my child not being in the racial majority at her school (which is YY and has no racial majority, but at this point might have a white plurality). I think the ethnic diversity is a huge strength for the community and for her education. To be perfectly honest though, the relatively high SES of the school increases my comfort level. I'd rather my child go to school with well-mannered children from educated families of any and every racial/ethnic/religious/gay-bi-trans/etc. background, than other children of her own race who might be from broken homes, saddled with low expectations, behavioral problems, unstable and unsafe home lives, etc.

That was probably terribly politically incorrect. Nonetheless, my child's school is one of many things I'm thankful for today.

Just fyi, Yu Ying is about 48% AA, 29% Caucasian, 15% Asian, and 7% Hispanic/Other. 22% FARMS

Any info on how they count the biracial kids like AA/Asian, Caucasian/Asian, etc.? Curious.

The parents of the child call it. As in any school. That's how it works.

OP raises a question that's been bugging me. How is it that parents put percentages of "diversity" and FARMs on their preschool application and charter lottery tracking spreadsheet like some kind of magic equation will generate the perfect school? If you don't want to go to a school for whatever reason, that's your business. But please spare us the "I value diversity but don't want my child to be the only one " excuse. Is it OK if a few classmates look white or do they have to actually be genetically white?

20:20, Then go back to your own selfish and useless world. We were ALL doing okay without you. You are the PIA that nobody wants to be the first, last, guinea pig or trailblazer.

Anonymous wrote:I am bamboozled at the fact that the timid reaction for not sending their white child to a school where they are the only one is because of ????? What has brought on this attitude is there a rise in race-riots or black on white bullying at DCPS.

Finding a few white folks is not comforting to hear. Again, the reality is that whites must come as group to conquer the fear of educating their children in a school system that is predominantly AA.

We all want the best education possible for our children but do we??? I want my child to have the best but let's not have the poor, uneducated parent base at the school. Oh! I want the diversity of my child's school we have AA PTSA President, White Principal but the poverty level is hovering around 40% and we haven't met AYP in years. See where I am going with this, it will never be politcally correct.

Well, I have no idea where you are going with this because it is so poorly written.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Statistically according to national studies most white middle class parents seek schools with no more than 20% minorities. Frankly how that is possible given demographic shifts I cant fathom, but that is what I heard in documentaries. Personally I look for my white kid to represent about 30% of the school meaning she will be one of 3-4 other white kids in the class. I have done less and it has not been an easy experience as much an issue of class as otherwise but kids see and act on race more often than we like to think.

As a white person who is very happy living in a very mixed neighborhood in DC, I'm going to state the obvious. It's not about race, it's about SES. I'm totally fine with my child not being in the racial majority at her school (which is YY and has no racial majority, but at this point might have a white plurality). I think the ethnic diversity is a huge strength for the community and for her education. To be perfectly honest though, the relatively high SES of the school increases my comfort level. I'd rather my child go to school with well-mannered children from educated families of any and every racial/ethnic/religious/gay-bi-trans/etc. background, than other children of her own race who might be from broken homes, saddled with low expectations, behavioral problems, unstable and unsafe home lives, etc.

That was probably terribly politically incorrect. Nonetheless, my child's school is one of many things I'm thankful for today.

Just fyi, Yu Ying is about 48% AA, 29% Caucasian, 15% Asian, and 7% Hispanic/Other. 22% FARMS

Any info on how they count the biracial kids like AA/Asian, Caucasian/Asian, etc.? Curious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Statistically according to national studies most white middle class parents seek schools with no more than 20% minorities. Frankly how that is possible given demographic shifts I cant fathom, but that is what I heard in documentaries. Personally I look for my white kid to represent about 30% of the school meaning she will be one of 3-4 other white kids in the class. I have done less and it has not been an easy experience as much an issue of class as otherwise but kids see and act on race more often than we like to think.

As a white person who is very happy living in a very mixed neighborhood in DC, I'm going to state the obvious. It's not about race, it's about SES. I'm totally fine with my child not being in the racial majority at her school (which is YY and has no racial majority, but at this point might have a white plurality). I think the ethnic diversity is a huge strength for the community and for her education. To be perfectly honest though, the relatively high SES of the school increases my comfort level. I'd rather my child go to school with well-mannered children from educated families of any and every racial/ethnic/religious/gay-bi-trans/etc. background, than other children of her own race who might be from broken homes, saddled with low expectations, behavioral problems, unstable and unsafe home lives, etc.

That was probably terribly politically incorrect. Nonetheless, my child's school is one of many things I'm thankful for today.

Just fyi, Yu Ying is about 48% AA, 29% Caucasian, 15% Asian, and 7% Hispanic/Other. 22% FARMS

I am bamboozled at the fact that the timid reaction for not sending their white child to a school where they are the only one is because of ????? What has brought on this attitude is there a rise in race-riots or black on white bullying at DCPS.

Finding a few white folks is not comforting to hear. Again, the reality is that whites must come as group to conquer the fear of educating their children in a school system that is predominantly AA.

We all want the best education possible for our children but do we??? I want my child to have the best but let's not have the poor, uneducated parent base at the school. Oh! I want the diversity of my child's school we have AA PTSA President, White Principal but the poverty level is hovering around 40% and we haven't met AYP in years. See where I am going with this, it will never be politcally correct.

Maybe more parents would be "trailblazers" if they were confident that certain things that usually affect high-poverty schools would be taken care of like:
- actually removing chronically disruptive children from the classroom (so that all kids can learn, and teachers are able to create more relaxed environments)
- providing a rich, well-balanced curriculum, not one that is completely about the tests
- making sure that higher performing students, or students with unique talents, can get proper attention from the teachers and not get lost in the NCLB shuffle
- getting the schools staffed with experienced teachers who already know how to teach, not lots of inexperienced folks who are learning on the job

These things are basically a given in schools that service mostly middle and high income kids, but not in schools with mostly low income kids.

Anonymous wrote:Why is the first "one" considered the guinea pig and not the trailblazer. I am telling you when we interviewed for the Principal position at Eastern one of the white candidates asked "where do the white children attend school?" The response was anywhere they please and can afford. I see the whites attends school fairs and show great interests but there's a "no-not-me" attitude. May I ask would a white principal at a school help with your decisions to send your child as the first to predominantly AA school. Don't get me wrong, there are blacks who feel that white leadership is a successful attribute, such as in SWW, Wilson and McKinley. Which leads me to Woodson High School who had a white principal and he was sent packing in the most unceremonious way.


I agree, it shouldn't be about skin color but it also shouldn't be about finances when it comes to free public education.

I think this is an interesting discussion. In the Walker Jones situation, the school is brand new and there is tons of new programming. There is a reggio program and the test scores have gone up two years in a row (more than you can say for most of the schools in DC). The school is bright, cheery and there is a new principal making a big difference in the programming that inspires kids to go to school every day. Yet, what can be done to get the white parents to "tailblaze" their way into the school. Imagine the difference if just a few parents to initial steps and led the way to make this a diverse neighborhood school? It's a Ward 6 school, so obviously, money will never be a problem. Just finding a few white folks to go...

Anonymous wrote:It's not about skin color. It's about the education and economic situation of the families these kids come from. I'd rather my ("white") kids in a school with a majority of "minority" faces that come from educated, upper-middle class homes than a school with a majority of "white" faces from lower class, under-educated homes.

The former is what you have at Wilson 60 % AA-with @ 50% of that 60% from upper middle class; the latter is what you have every where in VA/MD (except Langley, Churchill and Whitman, of course.)

@06:35 thus our decision to stay in DC for the school years.

Why is the first "one" considered the guinea pig and not the trailblazer. I am telling you when we interviewed for the Principal position at Eastern one of the white candidates asked "where do the white children attend school?" The response was anywhere they please and can afford. I see the whites attends school fairs and show great interests but there's a "no-not-me" attitude. May I ask would a white principal at a school help with your decisions to send your child as the first to predominantly AA school. Don't get me wrong, there are blacks who feel that white leadership is a successful attribute, such as in SWW, Wilson and McKinley. Which leads me to Woodson High School who had a white principal and he was sent packing in the most unceremonious way.


I agree, it shouldn't be about skin color but it also shouldn't be about finances when it comes to free public education.

Anonymous wrote:It's not about skin color. It's about the education and economic situation of the families these kids come from. I'd rather my ("white") kids in a school with a majority of "minority" faces that come from educated, upper-middle class homes than a school with a majority of "white" faces from lower class, under-educated homes.

In DC you can find plenty of educated upper-middle class minorities, but lower class under-educated whites are mighty scarce.