09/21/2012 07:06

I did walk the walk. I attended an HBCU for both undergraduate and graduate. Same one my mother attended. LOVED IT! I attended the middle and high school that my parents chose.

Was this by choice. Was HBCU a safety after coming from an elite middle and high school? I know many who struggled at the elite middle and high school and settled for less at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This phenomenon was very common in the last 25 to 30 years. Big fish in a small pond concept. You get my drift.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: It's complicated for for upper income AAs. I have similar concerns for my DS. I worry about his peer group identification as a mixed race teen. Too many adults in this town have failed black boys resulting in very low academic achievement. Latino students are doing better but not by much.

Is it truly more complicated for upper income AAs than for upper income.highly educated others? We're Asian American and wouldn't send our kids to a majority black school either. Peer group identification certainly cuts across race lines in this century. Fortunately, our preschool age kids are young enough for us to hope that DC public middle school quality will have dramatically improved in the next 8 or 10 to the point that we can find the rigor we're looking for. Perhaps Basis will provide it sooner, maybe 2-3 years hence, after some families entering at 5th have opted out.

Why do you need AA to opt out? My AA daughter is in 5th grade basis now and is doing well. Her classmates (white, black, Hispanic and Asian) are doing well and getting used to the BASIS way of doing things. She had numerous hard working and well behaved AA friends at Basis. Trust me your Asian American child will do well with the current mix (close to 50/50 but not exactly). Don't believe the hype about AA children. Not saying there aren't big educational issues in DC's AA population, but there are a large number of high achieving middle class AA, especially in schools like Basis.

@17:53 I agree with most of what you have said, well put.

My DS is also in 5th grade and is doing very well.

09/21/2012 07:06

I did walk the walk. I attended an HBCU for both undergraduate and graduate. Same one my mother attended. LOVED IT! I attended the middle and high school that my parents chose.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: It's complicated for for upper income AAs. I have similar concerns for my DS. I worry about his peer group identification as a mixed race teen. Too many adults in this town have failed black boys resulting in very low academic achievement. Latino students are doing better but not by much.

Is it truly more complicated for upper income AAs than for upper income.highly educated others? We're Asian American and wouldn't send our kids to a majority black school either. Peer group identification certainly cuts across race lines in this century. Fortunately, our preschool age kids are young enough for us to hope that DC public middle school quality will have dramatically improved in the next 8 or 10 to the point that we can find the rigor we're looking for. Perhaps Basis will provide it sooner, maybe 2-3 years hence, after some families entering at 5th have opted out.

Why do you need AA to opt out? My AA daughter is in 5th grade basis now and is doing well. Her classmates (white, black, Hispanic and Asian) are doing well and getting used to the BASIS way of doing things. She had numerous hard working and well behaved AA friends at Basis. Trust me your Asian American child will do well with the current mix (close to 50/50 but not exactly). Don't believe the hype about AA children. Not saying there aren't big educational issues in DC's AA population, but there are a large number of high achieving middle class AA, especially in schools like Basis.

@17:53 I agree with most of what you have said, well put.

Anonymous wrote: It's complicated for for upper income AAs. I have similar concerns for my DS. I worry about his peer group identification as a mixed race teen. Too many adults in this town have failed black boys resulting in very low academic achievement. Latino students are doing better but not by much.

Is it truly more complicated for upper income AAs than for upper income.highly educated others? We're Asian American and wouldn't send our kids to a majority black school either. Peer group identification certainly cuts across race lines in this century. Fortunately, our preschool age kids are young enough for us to hope that DC public middle school quality will have dramatically improved in the next 8 or 10 to the point that we can find the rigor we're looking for. Perhaps Basis will provide it sooner, maybe 2-3 years hence, after some families entering at 5th have opted out.

This is your blind spot. You attended an elite, private middle and high school!

Why didn't you attend an elite, all AA middle and high school?

As for college, I'm sure you did not attend Howard or Morehouse and if you went to graduate school, it was not an all AA graduate school.

You need to walk the big talk before babbling.

From these last few postings I see why native Washingtonians seem to stick together. I was extremely disheartened by the AA parent who posted that she would not send her kids to a school where more than half the class was AA. However, while I can't quibble with her feelings (sounds like an ingrained inferiority complex to me) I find them extremely sad. I am writing my first DCUM posting because she does not speak for me, a very high SES AA parent with a steller academic, athletic, musical...DS. Nor does she speak for any of the other very high SES AA parents in my circle. We don't live in PG but in Upper NW. I am a native Washingtonian who hangs out with other native Washingtonian AA parents (as well as my Caucasian native Washingtonian friends - we didn't have a lot of other races in our classes when I grew up). I am also friends with many Harvard educated and other prominent non-native Washingtonian AA parents who are like minded. I and numerous of my native Washingtonian friends purposefully sent our children to an all Black nursery - 3rd school. I was also educated there prior to attending a majority black DCPS elementary school and then an elite private middle and high school in the area. The education I received at both the all Black and majority Black DCPS school was far superior both intellectually and academically then what was offered at any of the elite private schools I attended or my Caucasion friends came from (I recognize that DCPS was different then). My Caucasian friends came from Little Flower, Blessed Sacrement and the like. All of my friends who attended these Black schools and moved on to elite private MS and HS or DCPS EofP schools felt like I and continue to feel the same.

To the parent who adopted an AA child - the benefit of attending schools with other very smart AA students is that when you are high achieving and people tell you that you are "different" than other AA students it doesn't hurt you that they are basically insulting your race when they think that they are complimenting you (sort of like teflon). You smile and move on because you know many others who are just like you, including smart low SES AA kids, and refuse to the buy the hype. It is similar to all the books that told me my son was going to be slow verbally because he was a boy. I refused to accept it, was glad for the advance knowledge, and made sure I created a verbally and book rich environment and my son began speaking in complete sentences around 15 months and was reading simple books at 3.

I can't speak to the parent of the mixed race teen - when I came along it was generally acknowledged among high SES Washingtonian AAs that if you were from the U.S. and you were not from immigrant parents and you were Black then you were mixed race. Anything else was called the "paper bag test" and that became unpopular here in the 70s. For example, assuming you are female, if you talk to your husband's family about his ancestors you will probably discover that his family is aware that he was mixed race before he met you. Thus, unless mixed race means being raised by one white parent and thus being faced more with self-generated white cultural issues such as "who" you are, your DC will be accepted by AAs unless your DC makes it an issue. Blacks from the US in this area, my family has been here 300-400 years, know who we are even if we are born with blue eyes, and blond or flaming red hair and both of our parents and grandparents are not considered mixed race.

BTW - I intend to apply for Basis next year as it is the only DCPS school where I think I may have chance for an academically challenging environment for him. The only private school that interests me at this level is the Congressional School in VA - now that's a school - but very limited diversity. Reminds me of Dunbar High when it was segregated - all AA - my cousins attended there before my time. My son will be a 5th grader if he is accepted. I hope many other Black kids are with us. If not, I may as well be at an elite private with different advantages. Either way thanks to my DC's all Black early education, he has many extemely high achieving AA friends and although we have all taken different routes, MCPS, elite privates, DCPS - they are ALL competitive so far and have a bond that we hope will continue through their life. My AA friends who placed their children in overwhelmingly white environments in the early years are not as academically competitive and their children seem to be complacent with mediocrity.

I hope this is helpful

5:07 & 11:49, I know where you coming from, but I am wondering where you are going to find a MS or HS, other than the privates, that won't have a majority AA or Latino enrollment in DC. You better move to Ward 3. You might be able to accomplish this for MS but not HS.

It's complicated for for upper income AAs. I have similar concerns for my DS. I worry about his peer group identification as a mixed race teen. Too many adults in this town have failed black boys resulting in very low academic achievement. Latino students are doing better but not by much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an AA parent who wouldn't send my kid to any area school or classroom where at least half the students aren't white or Asian. [...] I'm watching Basis for my ES age children, but if the higher grades are more than half AA (with race being a proxy for class in DC of course) in a few years, forget it.

Shame on you. Just as any white or Asian parent, and just as Marion Barry, you should get sent to the time out chair for being so simple-minded. As way too many white parents, you seem incapable to of understanding the complexities of what motivates families to help their children get ahead educationally. There is something in between color blind and blinded by color, with the likes of you - white, black, or whatever, on the latter end of the spectrum. When you're ready to not let yourself be blinded, you'll see that all of us come in all colors when it comes to our kids' education. I know white families with double incomes who let their kids run rampant and keep expectations low, academically and socially, and I know black families who navigate school choices with a keen eye on the ball while one parent is in jail or getting by on welfare checks while looking after two ailing parents. No, white is not always right; and black is not always beautiful. Granted, the world would be an easier place if that were the case.

You cannot convince her differently. And, I agree 100% with your post PP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are wrong. Most people don't make assumptions like you lay out. Very few do. But what people know from hard statistical evidence us that a high percentage of low SES students ( of any race ) in the same class/ school means that the class or school is going to be involved, in fact focused, on a lot of remediation and discipline and other activities in order to make up for lacks in the households of many ( not all!) Of those students. This is the right thing to do.

This is not bigotry, racism, elitism or anything but sound judgement based on current evidence. When the teaching style, school organization, curriculum, culture or whatever changes to make this no longer the case, no one will even check the ses percentages and test scores of a school because they will all be good.

Until that happens, please stop slamming parents for making sound judgements about what school environment is best for their kids ( high or low ses!)

+1,000. Thank you for this profoundly rational post.

I'm an AA parent who wouldn't send my kid to any area school or classroom where at least half the students aren't white or Asian. Why not? There aren't enough high-SES AA families in DC, or indeed the country, to give me confidence that a predominantly black or hispanic classroom would offer the rigor I'm looking for. Yes, mushy minded liberal white and lower middle-class SES AA parents, kindly stop slamming others for using logic to dictate school choice. Hint: my minority pals (doctors, lawyers, lobbyists etc.) think the same way, to a parent. Ever hear about a rising China, a rising India? We can't afford to dabble in mediocrity for our kids when highly-educated parents in Beijing and Mumbai certainly aren't going to. AA kids who are well-behaved, well prepared and hell bent on achieving are more than welcome in my kids' classrooms. Reality dictates that such children are hard to find in a US city with an ailing public school system and no GT education (KIPP doesn't do it for me). I'm against an all AA Banneker in a big way. I'm watching Basis for my ES age children, but if the higher grades are more than half AA (with race being a proxy for class in DC of course) in a few years, forget it.

I am white but have an AA child and over time I have shed my rose colored glasses and have much the same feelings. I really felt that it wouldn't matter what the income level was and that it was likely a good thing to have such a mix but after a couple years, I realize I was wrong.

The only area I can think of around here where there might be a high AA population that is high SES is in parts of PG County.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an AA parent who wouldn't send my kid to any area school or classroom where at least half the students aren't white or Asian. [...] I'm watching Basis for my ES age children, but if the higher grades are more than half AA (with race being a proxy for class in DC of course) in a few years, forget it.

Shame on you. Just as any white or Asian parent, and just as Marion Barry, you should get sent to the time out chair for being so simple-minded. As way too many white parents, you seem incapable to of understanding the complexities of what motivates families to help their children get ahead educationally. There is something in between color blind and blinded by color, with the likes of you - white, black, or whatever, on the latter end of the spectrum. When you're ready to not let yourself be blinded, you'll see that all of us come in all colors when it comes to our kids' education. I know white families with double incomes who let their kids run rampant and keep expectations low, academically and socially, and I know black families who navigate school choices with a keen eye on the ball while one parent is in jail or getting by on welfare checks while looking after two ailing parents. No, white is not always right; and black is not always beautiful. Granted, the world would be an easier place if that were the case.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I'm an AA parent who wouldn't send my kid to any area school or classroom where at least half the students aren't white or Asian. [...] I'm watching Basis for my ES age children, but if the higher grades are more than half AA (with race being a proxy for class in DC of course) in a few years, forget it.

Shame on you. Just as any white or Asian parent, and just as Marion Barry, you should get sent to the time out chair for being so simple-minded. As way too many white parents, you seem incapable to of understanding the complexities of what motivates families to help their children get ahead educationally. There is something in between color blind and blinded by color, with the likes of you - white, black, or whatever, on the latter end of the spectrum. When you're ready to not let yourself be blinded, you'll see that all of us come in all colors when it comes to our kids' education. I know white families with double incomes who let their kids run rampant and keep expectations low, academically and socially, and I know black families who navigate school choices with a keen eye on the ball while one parent is in jail or getting by on welfare checks while looking after two ailing parents. No, white is not always right; and black is not always beautiful. Granted, the world would be an easier place if that were the case.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are wrong. Most people don't make assumptions like you lay out. Very few do. But what people know from hard statistical evidence us that a high percentage of low SES students ( of any race ) in the same class/ school means that the class or school is going to be involved, in fact focused, on a lot of remediation and discipline and other activities in order to make up for lacks in the households of many ( not all!) Of those students. This is the right thing to do.

This is not bigotry, racism, elitism or anything but sound judgement based on current evidence. When the teaching style, school organization, curriculum, culture or whatever changes to make this no longer the case, no one will even check the ses percentages and test scores of a school because they will all be good.

Until that happens, please stop slamming parents for making sound judgements about what school environment is best for their kids ( high or low ses!)

+1,000. Thank you for this profoundly rational post.

I'm an AA parent who wouldn't send my kid to any area school or classroom where at least half the students aren't white or Asian. Why not? There aren't enough high-SES AA families in DC, or indeed the country, to give me confidence that a predominantly black or hispanic classroom would offer the rigor I'm looking for. Yes, mushy minded liberal white and lower middle-class SES AA parents, kindly stop slamming others for using logic to dictate school choice. Hint: my minority pals (doctors, lawyers, lobbyists etc.) think the same way, to a parent. Ever hear about a rising China, a rising India? We can't afford to dabble in mediocrity for our kids when highly-educated parents in Beijing and Mumbai certainly aren't going to. AA kids who are well-behaved, well prepared and hell bent on achieving are more than welcome in my kids' classrooms. Reality dictates that such children are hard to find in a US city with an ailing public school system and no GT education (KIPP doesn't do it for me). I'm against an all AA Banneker in a big way. I'm watching Basis for my ES age children, but if the higher grades are more than half AA (with race being a proxy for class in DC of course) in a few years, forget it.

My guess is that the AA percentage at BASIS DC will always be higher in 5th and 6th, before the kids have to pass comps to be promoted, and for 7th and higher, it will drop year by year.

Anonymous wrote:I think you are wrong. Most people don't make assumptions like you lay out. Very few do. But what people know from hard statistical evidence us that a high percentage of low SES students ( of any race ) in the same class/ school means that the class or school is going to be involved, in fact focused, on a lot of remediation and discipline and other activities in order to make up for lacks in the households of many ( not all!) Of those students. This is the right thing to do.

This is not bigotry, racism, elitism or anything but sound judgement based on current evidence. When the teaching style, school organization, curriculum, culture or whatever changes to make this no longer the case, no one will even check the ses percentages and test scores of a school because they will all be good.

Until that happens, please stop slamming parents for making sound judgements about what school environment is best for their kids ( high or low ses!)

+1,000. Thank you for this profoundly rational post.

I'm an AA parent who wouldn't send my kid to any area school or classroom where at least half the students aren't white or Asian. Why not? There aren't enough high-SES AA families in DC, or indeed the country, to give me confidence that a predominantly black or hispanic classroom would offer the rigor I'm looking for. Yes, mushy minded liberal white and lower middle-class SES AA parents, kindly stop slamming others for using logic to dictate school choice. Hint: my minority pals (doctors, lawyers, lobbyists etc.) think the same way, to a parent. Ever hear about a rising China, a rising India? We can't afford to dabble in mediocrity for our kids when highly-educated parents in Beijing and Mumbai certainly aren't going to. AA kids who are well-behaved, well prepared and hell bent on achieving are more than welcome in my kids' classrooms. Reality dictates that such children are hard to find in a US city with an ailing public school system and no GT education (KIPP doesn't do it for me). I'm against an all AA Banneker in a big way. I'm watching Basis for my ES age children, but if the higher grades are more than half AA (with race being a proxy for class in DC of course) in a few years, forget it.

Anonymous wrote:I find that my 6th grade DC is spending a great deal of time on homework most nights, i.e., several hours, and its eating into sleep time.

Anyone care to share how much time their DC spends on homework?

My 8th grader is averaging 3-4 hours per night. I am not surprised thought b/c 6th and 7th grades were totally wasted. It's like a 6th grader doing 8th grade work.