As a former employee of the School District of Philadelphia I am well aware of the segregation issues plaguing neighborhoods across cities. I have written before on issues of racial and ethnic differences between teachers and students (here and here) but not as much about diversity of the student population. During the time I spent teaching in Philadelphia I mostly worked in schools that were 80%+ Black with a smattering of other groups (Latino, Asian, White. African immigrant). At the time I noted this but did not have as personal a stake in it because of lack of neighborhood connections and being shifted around from school to school so frequently.
Fast forward to this year when I am finally in the third year at a school I love to work in and have been elected one of its Union leaders. I have been attending meetings with the administration and Union and learned more about this issue amongst many others.
What I've learned about our school is that we are incredibly diverse in comparison to some of our neighbors and that other schools are popping up in our district that are less diverse but somehow more desirable (i.e. are placed higher on applications for middle school and high school). Apparently, a school with around 60-70% White students where the rest are of a variety of backgrounds is desired more than our more balanced demographic (something like 40% Latino, 30% Black, and a mixture of the rest). Perhaps if a student population is majority White then middle- to upper-class parents will more likely send there children there?
New maps that recently came out of the Center for NYC Affairs have fanned the flame of a battle being fought across the city. As school diversity debates are raging in NYC many residents are wondering what will Chancellor Fariña do about some schools that do not reflect the diversity of the neighborhood surrounding them.
I, personally, wonder about an elementary school a few blocks away from my house - PS 282. I have good friends who send their son there as a minority White student amongst a majority Black and Latino population. He has a great education and is involved in the Chess club (he is nationally ranked at age 8!) yet the surrounding neighborhood has many more White families that do not send their kids there. If this is a continuing trend, we are well on our way to sustaining segregation and all its pitfalls.
Fast forward to this year when I am finally in the third year at a school I love to work in and have been elected one of its Union leaders. I have been attending meetings with the administration and Union and learned more about this issue amongst many others.
What I've learned about our school is that we are incredibly diverse in comparison to some of our neighbors and that other schools are popping up in our district that are less diverse but somehow more desirable (i.e. are placed higher on applications for middle school and high school). Apparently, a school with around 60-70% White students where the rest are of a variety of backgrounds is desired more than our more balanced demographic (something like 40% Latino, 30% Black, and a mixture of the rest). Perhaps if a student population is majority White then middle- to upper-class parents will more likely send there children there?
New maps that recently came out of the Center for NYC Affairs have fanned the flame of a battle being fought across the city. As school diversity debates are raging in NYC many residents are wondering what will Chancellor Fariña do about some schools that do not reflect the diversity of the neighborhood surrounding them.
I, personally, wonder about an elementary school a few blocks away from my house - PS 282. I have good friends who send their son there as a minority White student amongst a majority Black and Latino population. He has a great education and is involved in the Chess club (he is nationally ranked at age 8!) yet the surrounding neighborhood has many more White families that do not send their kids there. If this is a continuing trend, we are well on our way to sustaining segregation and all its pitfalls.
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