Anonymous wrote:I don't care about racial diversity but did choose to live in an area zoned for a HS with more economic diversity vs. one that has virtually no FARMs kids and skews to very high income. I went to that kind of nearly-all upper income HS and the culture was toxic -- all about appearances, materialism, bullying those who didn't fit the right look, lots of drug use, entitled kids and parents. I managed to isolate myself somewhat from all of it by being in a small honors program within the HS but it definitely gives a skewed perception of the real world.

My kids have been at schools for ES, MS and HS with 30-40% FARMs rates and I've been happy with the quality of the education at all the schools and the quality of the school culture. The schools happen to be racially diverse too but that wasn't the goal.

That would mean you have 30-40% of the kids having little to no parent involvement in the school. If you ask me that is more toxic. Statistically FARMS kids do not have the same parental involvement as others. That is a huge amount of FARMS. Parent involvement is what makes a school strong and high achieving.

I don't care about racial diversity but did choose to live in an area zoned for a HS with more economic diversity vs. one that has virtually no FARMs kids and skews to very high income. I went to that kind of nearly-all upper income HS and the culture was toxic -- all about appearances, materialism, bullying those who didn't fit the right look, lots of drug use, entitled kids and parents. I managed to isolate myself somewhat from all of it by being in a small honors program within the HS but it definitely gives a skewed perception of the real world.

My kids have been at schools for ES, MS and HS with 30-40% FARMs rates and I've been happy with the quality of the education at all the schools and the quality of the school culture. The schools happen to be racially diverse too but that wasn't the goal.

No. We would've picked the school we thought has more discipline. You can't learn anything if kids are not paying attention. Somehow the higher rated school tells me there is more listening going on (I might be wrong).
We live in DC-plenty of diversity here. We are an international family and will be going abroad most summers. I would pick a language immersion over a higher rated school, but not if the commute was 15-20 minutes. Our current school is 1.5 blocks away.
Older kid ended up in great NW school because I could afford a tiny place here vs much more expensive one in CH/Adams Morgan where metro is closer. He has done well because his classmates do well. I should've sent him to immersion school that called, but didn't want to drive far. He quite good at Spanish without immersion, and I have short commute.

big whoop so you made it harder for yourself by having to supplement instead of going to a better school which is the logical choice 95% of people make

Anonymous wrote:do as I say not as I do

the whole diversity bs is another classic sign of limousine liberals

and for all you white knights who have your kids in a "diverse" school come back to me when they reahigh school or middle school or heck even 3rd grade

lol idiots

21:08 here: My kid is in college.

do as I say not as I do

the whole diversity bs is another classic sign of limousine liberals

and for all you white knights who have your kids in a "diverse" school come back to me when they reahigh school or middle school or heck even 3rd grade

lol idiots

Anonymous wrote:Revealed preferences (i.e. what people actually do) show that most parents will throw diversity under a truck with a big, s*-eating smile on their face for even a small improvement in school quality.

+100

One might argue that many DC/NOVA/MD people run screaming away (with child clutched to bosom) from "diversity" if it is the wrong kind of diversity. Ahem.

Most of these "diverse" kids are Americanized, so it's not like your kids are being immersed in another culture.

These kids would probably benefit more if they spent some time in another country. It just seems weird to think that people are significantly different than you because they look different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I don't care at all about diversity.

Ditto. Wasn't a factor when considering schools. I think a lot of people talk the diversity talk, but when it comes down to it, other factors weigh more heavily in school choice.

I think people like to talk about diversity being important when they simply didn't have another choice but the one they had to take. I think people say they prefer it because they didn't have any other options. They act like they wanted it for noble reasons when that wasn't the case.

Anonymous wrote:No. I don't care at all about diversity.

Ditto. Wasn't a factor when considering schools. I think a lot of people talk the diversity talk, but when it comes down to it, other factors weigh more heavily in school choice.

I went from a Catholic school to a diverse public school. The education quality was less. However, my knowledge of different SES and ethnic groups is greater than any of my friends. Still - I don't want my kids exposed to some things.

First, ratings don't automatically translate to quality of education.

Second, school is about more than education, but about learning to get along with everyone as preparation for the outside world. Wealthy white districts do not offer the best long-term experience.

Third, it's always best to cough up the money to have both diversity AND education quality. But what if you can't?

Anonymous wrote:This is a false question. Op is a crock of shit. Op is insinuating that whites leave diverse schools for better educations.

This is false. Whites leave diverse schools not for educational reasons but because whites don't want to walk in the shoes of other minorities.

This is proven by what happens when asians get too high of a concentration in schools - white families leave

Whites leave when there are too many Asians because it becomes crazy competitive and they want to participate in the craze. If there are too many lower SES kids (of any race), the quality of instruction suffers, just because the teachers have to cater to a high range of needs.
It's all pretty simple.
My child is in a 65% FARMS school. We are not here for diversity. It is a neighborhood school and has quite a few freebies for the whole school my child can benefit from. I would be very happy, however, if all the FARMS kids just up and left

Well, I am a racial minority, so I don't see it as a choice between quality of education and diversity. If my kid went to a school where they were one of a handful of minorities, that could just as easily affect their educational and social development as whatever alleged lack of quality would exist in the more diverse school. It's like choosing between the slightly lesser of two evils.

My son was in PEP at a title one school. During his IEP meeting I requested to stay there for K. Not because the school offered diversity but because the socio-economic make up of the school gave it title one status and therefore smaller classes.

The accommodation that he needed in his IEP was smaller class size so he wasn't as overwhelmed. The W school that we are zoned for had 26:1. The title one was 18:1 with an aide. For my son, the benefit offered by the title one school as a result of its diversity, is the best education I can give him.