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I volunteer for a program through my employer in which I teach in middle schools that are typically in the poorest parts of Durham County. What holds them back is the level or participation from their community. It's not the funded programs, it certainly is not the quality of the educators and it definitely is not the ability of the students. It's part cultural and part economics, parents in poorer communities don't value education the same way as those in more affluent areas, don't show up to support the schools the same way and definitely don't have money to fund extracurricular activities at the school or for their children.
There are significant social issues that create such gaps, it's not because of disproportionate funding.
If folks feel strongly enough about forced integration, they need to send their kids to inner city schools and vacate their spot for a less economically fortunate student.
If folks feel strongly enough about forced integration, they need to send their kids to inner city schools and vacate their spot for a less economically fortunate student.
interestingly, in re-reading that article about a single CHARLOTTE school, I noticed that the op-ed author didn't make a single mention about achievement. Just racial makeup.
Interesting.
Yes. That is the ONLY thing this is ever about. Sad.
If folks feel strongly enough about forced integration, they need to send their kids to inner city schools and vacate their spot for a less economically fortunate student.
We'll be waiting.
I have always thought the same thing. If you are pro diversity, send your kid to the worst performing school and let the kid in the worst school take your kid's spot in the good school.
Better yet, all the pro diversity folks may want to think about selling their home in the good neighborhood thy are in and buying in the worst neighborhood....so they can effect change right at ground zero.
If folks feel strongly enough about forced integration, they need to send their kids to inner city schools and vacate their spot for a less economically fortunate student.
We'll be waiting.
That's exactly what the article was about. Did you read it?
West Charlotte was the only historically black high school left in the city, and there was a lot of conflict over which white kids were going to have go to it. In the end, a group of wealthy, white parents decided that they were going to put their kids on those buses, and this served as a catalyst. There was a strong sense among them that they were doing something bigger than themselves and their children. The city’s leaders also made integration a priority, as having Charlotte’s schools in racial turmoil did not advance the city’s reputation on the national stage.
They have talked about merging the Orange County system and the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools for years. I would be fine with it, but I think the general feeling is if it ain't broke don't fix it and the biggest sticking point is folks in Orange County don't want to raise their taxes to fund the schools at the same level as CHCCS.
Back when the integration ruling came down from federal court in Charlotte many of the school systems in North Carolina were separate city/county systems. They were merged into county systems as white flight drove white growth in the suburban county systems. Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools is one of about 14 or so city systems still left. Unlike many of the other city/county systems there is not much racial disparity between the two. Historically, often the city system was heavily minority and the county system was mainly white — many of the systems were merged to correct that racial imbalance and provide equitable funding for students across the county. Both Orange County Schools and CHCCS are high performing systems with similar racial and economic profiles (CHCCS has about 20-22% low income/free and reduced lunch receiving students).
In Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County it's basically a flip of the traditional minority majority poor-performing city schools, richer/whiter county schools. CHCCS performs better than OCS, but OCS is still a high performing school district.
It’s not just about funding from state and local taxes, it’s about PTA’s and boosters. Some of these school have endowments that are big enough to pay salaries for extra staff, some schools barely have enough PTA money to cover school events.
THIS means that schools are not adequately funded to start with. The fact that PTA fundraising is needed to buy technology is crazy.
Yes, this is the goal of magnet schools to increase socioeconomic diversity in schools that are in low income areas. https://www.wcpss.net/Page/33790
People in this thread are using the term diversity with respect to cultural diversity and socio economic diversity interchangeably. You can't talk about WCPSS in such general terms. For example, I live in Cary my school is 40% non white therefore we are culturally diverse. However, we are no socio-economically diverse. It is not in a rich area but we have a low free and reduced lunch population.
People in this thread are using the term diversity with respect to cultural diversity and socio economic diversity interchangeably. You can't talk about WCPSS in such general terms. For example, I live in Cary my school is 40% non white therefore we are culturally diverse. However, we are no socio-economically diverse. It is not in a rich area but we have a low free and reduced lunch population.
I volunteer for a program through my employer in which I teach in middle schools that are typically in the poorest parts of Durham County. What holds them back is the level or participation from their community. It's not the funded programs, it certainly is not the quality of the educators and it definitely is not the ability of the students. It's part cultural and part economics, parents in poorer communities don't value education the same way as those in more affluent areas, don't show up to support the schools the same way and definitely don't have money to fund extracurricular activities at the school or for their children.
There are significant social issues that create such gaps, it's not because of disproportionate funding.
I think the thought with economic diversity policies is that students being amongst group of peers at school who are getting that message that education matters may help off-set the lack of that message from home. I don't know that it can solve the problem, but it certainly doesn't exacerbate it like putting all the poor kids in school together does. That's what "neighborhood schools" do — re-segregate on racial and economic lines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theS5
If folks feel strongly enough about forced integration, they need to send their kids to inner city schools and vacate their spot for a less economically fortunate student.
We'll be waiting.
Re this idea again, CHCCS has an economic diversity policy so that when new schools are built and we have to go through redistricting they try to balance things out economically (racial equity policies being disallowed by the courts). My non-economically disadvantaged kids went to a Title 1 elementary school that we absolutely loved.
That's why when folks post on here asking which schools in CHCCS are "good" the answer is "all of them", and Orange Co Schools are too.
Last edited by poppydog; 02-24-2018 at 12:48 PM..
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