For Raleigh Schools, Resegregation by Another Name?
- Print print this page
- Discuss 25 comments, Blog about
Advertisement
The Wake County school board has stepped in it big time. National attention has focused on a move by John Tedesco and other Republican (or tea party) board members toward dismantling the busing arrangements ensuring that no single school has a high concentration of "students from low-income households."
That's because "low-income households" is a euphemism for black and Latino drug-dealing gang members. Some members of the Wake County school board are determined to see these miscreants stuffed into schools that good white kids won't attend. Simple enough. And perfectly explicable.
On Jan. 2, The Washington Post ran a front-page story about the brouhaha created by the Wake board's move toward "resegregation," and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, whose Division for Civil Rights is scrutinizing complaints made by the NAACP against the Wake Board, said that the board's actions are "troubling" (nice use of understatement).
The board has also drawn criticism from Gov. Beverly Perdue and Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker - and anyone else who has an ounce of good sense.
The corker came on Jan. 18, when Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" aired a segment of his bitingly satiric segment of "The Word," in which he mocked Tedesco and the proposed actions of the Wake board. The word was "disintegration." (You can find the entire shtick by going to thecolbertnation.com and entering "disintegration" under "search"; it's a hoot.)
"A recent poll showed that 94.5 percent of Wake County parents are satisfied with their children's schools," Colbert says. "Clearly, a tragic triumph of government intervention. ... Sure, integrating may sound benign, but what's the use of living in a gated community if my kids go to school and get 'poor' all over them?
"Nothing captures the attention of America more than concentrating all the poor in one location. Just take public transportation. City buses are dirty, but we ignore the problem because it's not squalid enough. But I believe if we made certain groups of people ride in the back of the bus again, we'd remember how poor those conditions are, and I'm sure we'd fix them. And then we can reverse socially engineered progress in other areas like lunch counters and water fountains until things get so bad for the poor that we won't be able to ignore them."
Ouch!
The State Board of Education has a safeguard against resegregation. It is called Disadvantaged Students Supplemental Funding, and it reads: "In determining whether to approve a local school administrative unit's plan for the expenditure of funds allocated to it for disadvantaged student supplemental funding, the State Board of Education shall take into consideration the extent to which the local school administrative unit's policies or expenditures have contributed to or are contributing to increased segregation of schools on the basis of race or socioeconomic status."
Wake County schools stand to lose $3.5 million. That ought to get the board's attention.
While I'm on the subject:
This column isn't only about a couple of Wake County buffoons. No, it's about TV news reporters and their inability to pronounce "accreditation" correctly.
Triangle TV news has been reporting on the possibility that Wake County high schools might lose their accreditation by AdvancedED, an agency that accredits American universities and secondary schools. And when the TV reporters make these reports - which is almost every evening - they almost always say "accredidation" instead of -"accreditation." (I'm excluding Amanda Lamb from this criticism. She pronounces the word correctly.)
Let me make this absolutely clear: It's ac-cred-i-ta-tion. Say each syllable, and you'll hear that there is only one "d" at work in the pronunciation.
In addition to the TV reporters, I've heard members of the Wake County school board pronounce the word incorrectly - and it's embarrassing!
All right, one more time: ac-cred-i-ta-tion. If we don't want folks to make fun of us, we ought to talk right.
Stephen Smith lives in Southern Pines. Contact him at travisses@hotmail.com.
More like this story
Advertisement
Comments
GeorgiaMan 2 years, 3 months ago
Boston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Wake County - All have tried it, all have failed. The main point is ALL SCHOOLS ARE FUNDED EQUALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IF A SCHOOL IS NOT PERFORMING WELL THEN YOU CHANGE THE LEADERSHIP, IF THAT DOES NOT WORK, THEN YOU CHANGE THE TEACHERS.......PARENTS HAVE TO BE INVOLVED IN THEIR "LOCAL SCHOOLS" Having children live in one part of the County and sending them by force to the other side of the County is Stupid - It will not work.
It hasn't worked, It is not going to solve the underlying problems. Rembember the Slogan "No Child Left Behind" it really translates to "No Child too Far Ahead".
People wake up - Since the Federal Government took over Education, things have gotten WORSE - Our test scores are down, more schools are failing, and our overall performance against the rest of the world is awful. The Wake School Board is doing what they were elected to do - Change the system back to local schools. If you don't like the school in your area - MOVE. If you cannot move then petition to have your child moved to another school. If that doesn't happen raise heck to make sure that in your local school that teaching is going on, not BS. Get involved with your children's school, hound the teachers, hound the principals. At my child's school everyone from the Principal down knows me and who my child is. My wife and I stay involved. We do not depend on someone else to tell us if there is a problem, once we find out something we act on it.
It is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their child is educated and engaged in school. Not the Government.
CSmithson 2 years, 3 months ago
@Georgiaman If all parents were involved in their children's education as you are, we'd be a lot better off. Parental participation, especially BEFORE a child starts school can make all the difference.
That said, simply proposing that all schools be funded equally and ending it there seems awfully similar to "separate but equal." The thing is, not all students are equal and thus not all needs are equal. Even a substantially greater funding, high-poverty schools don't have nearly the chance at success as schools full of children from more affluent backgrounds and more parental participation.
We need to avoid the creation and perpetuation of high poverty schools not because of any concerns about your well-fed, well-rested, well-supported child. We need to do so because even the best teachers and principals have the deck stacked against them when they are overloaded with students who come in hungry every day or whose parents don't read to them. To be satisfied that we spend the same amount on every student regardless of their needs or situation means we are satisfied with student performance and ultimate lifetime success being based more on the economic background they were born into rather than their innate potential. For the same reason we have programs to ensure poor children have proper food and medical care instead of saying "tough, their parents should grow a garden," we must do what we can to help children through situations that are no fault of their own. That may include taking steps to ensure that no school is high poverty and thus highly challenged in its teachers' ability to teach effectively and its students' ability to learn effectively. Of course, we need not look all the way to Wake County for a school board seemingly uninterested in avoiding the creation and perpetuation of high poverty schools and that seens to settle for the "we fund everyone the same" excuse. Our own board does a pretty good job at that.
GeorgiaMan 2 years, 3 months ago
First you said Separate but Equal not me. I take pride in the fact that my child is well rested, well fed and well supported. If more people did then things would be better.
As long as these types of programs have been going on nothing has changed - Our test scores continue to decline, our educational system continues to decline, our country is in decline. Moving children around like chess pieces does not solve any problems except for elected officials keeping empty promises. Each school is different - Yes, but you cannot solve a problem by just moving children around. If your local school is awful work to change it. The days of Seperate but Equal and Jim Crow are dead - Can you say President Obama?
What still lives on is the ignorance that just because you move children around then like magic better things will happen. It has not worked before and it will never work.
I will agree that our own School Board has done some pretty insane things since I moved here. But if they ever tried to shuffle the entire system like Wake then either I would move, or go to a Private option.
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
Jim Crow never died, he just went into hiding. Our schools are more segregated than they were when Martin Luther King was alive. And Wake County is proving a nurturing place for the racists among us. Segregationists never give up and it takes constant vigilance to keep them away from our children.
GeorgiaMan 2 years, 3 months ago
Let us worry more about Teachers who don't want to teach, for Adminstrators who will not or cannot make better decisions, for Parents who do nothing but send their kids to a government run school and play no part in the education of their children. Dr. Martin Luther King would be amazed by what has happened in this country. President Obama! General Colin Powell! Clarence Thomas! Would never have been able to do what they have done without the help of Dr. King. Jim Crow is dead. Faith in thinking that just because you bus children far from their homes making sure their parents can have little or no say in the teaching of their children is the real villian here.
mcg2010 2 years, 3 months ago
Dr. King would also be quite distressed with the WCPSS decision to end a program that would keep education equal for all.
native 2 years, 3 months ago
TO JIM ;;; THAT IS JUST A STUPID STATEMENT
CSmithson 2 years, 3 months ago
Jim, I don't think what is going on in Wake is driven by racism. Yes, part of the situation in Wake comes from historic segregated neighborhood settelment patterns, but something different is going on today.
From what I can tell, the people in Wake screaming the most about the far-flung attendance districts are understandably unhappy about sending their kids to schools much farther away than the closest ones to where they live.
That said, there does seem to be a fair amount of selfishness or at least blindness to a larger issue. While in North Carolina there is a pretty high correlation between race and income, Wake's policies are not directly based on race.
The fact is, ALL students do better when they are not in high poverty schools. This is not about averaging or burying scores. All students do better.
In Wake County, those parents screaming the loudest about the current policy are clearly (and understandably) concerned the most about their individual situations and not their neighbors across town. Unfortunately, this means they seem to have no understanding of the bigger issue and are unwilling to be part of a larger effort that seeks to ensure ALL students can learn in a school environment that gives them the best chance to succeed.
It's not racism. It's just "me" vs. "we."
GeorgiaMan 2 years, 3 months ago
From each according to their ability, to each according to their need. Why do we continue to sacrifice our children to the God of Bussing. It will not work. It has not worked. It will never work.
Again it is not "No Child left behind, it is no child too far ahead"
Each person is responsible for raising their own children. A parent can raise a child, a Village cannot.
CSmithson 2 years, 3 months ago
I tried to post from the follwing reports, but the formatting options for a post here are nonexistent and made it unreadable.
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/ingersoll-final.pdf http://www.wcpss.net/evaluation-research/reports/1999/9920_poverty.pdf
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
"(Reuters) - Black and Latino students are educated in U.S. schools that are increasingly segregated, said a report Wednesday that undercuts optimism about race in America surrounding the presidency of Barack Obama.
"Blacks and Hispanics are more separate from white students than at any time since the civil rights movement and many of the schools they attend are struggling, said the report by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California."
Inflammatory with no facts?
GeorgiaMan 2 years, 3 months ago
Why?????????????
What do they want. More money to spend on failed projects. We already spend as a Nation some of the highest amounts in the world to educate our young. If those schools are performing badly - Pay the teachers more, get rid of Tenure so bad teachers can be forced out, run the schools like a business - If a teacher cannot produce a good product - Then Fire them
native 2 years, 3 months ago
CALIFORNIA NOT NORTH CAROLINA
buddysmith 2 years, 3 months ago
I asked a sophmore in high school once, when was the war of 1812? he said he was certain it was between world war 2 and the korean and vietnam(obviously thought both were the same) war! point being what is actually being taught in our public schools systems now? they are terrible, in my opinion, but every time there is a tax increase discussed, they need it for education. education? does it really matter were a kid goes to school if they are not being prepared for their future? this argument seems to be more about political correctness than what is best for the kids.
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
So now a racist can be defined as someone who doesn't want their child riding a bus to a school for an hour when a suitable school is 5" away from their home. If that is the criteria, count me in.
M3rules 2 years, 3 months ago
Excellent comment fugitiveguy. Parental involvement is also key to the overall success of most schools. Would you not assume that parents could become involved in a school that is 5 minutes from their home easier than one that is 30 minutes away.
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
"Black and Latino students are educated in U.S. schools that are increasingly segregated"
How do their birthrates compare to that of whites?
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
Non-white birthrates are relevant how?
GeorgiaMan 2 years, 3 months ago
Mr. Heim
On this point I totally agree with you. Birthrates have nothing to do with any thread relating with this column.
buddysmith 2 years, 3 months ago
can someone tell me if teachers are worse in schools that happen to be in a poor side of town? is it not eventually the quality of that teacher in the classroom teaching, or the area in which a school is located that determines a students success or failure?? i am confused here?? if the current system of busing kids to areas all over the county is failing, why not send kids to a school close to their home? maybe the extra 30 minutes of sleep each morning can help them concentrate better in the classroom. fugitveguy I guess i am a racist too because I see no logic in the forced busing and handcuffing caring parents to send their kid to a school across the county.
native 2 years, 3 months ago
Who is placing BAD teachers in bad schools....Sounds like placement of teachers needs to be shuffled every year then all schools would get all teachers... YEAH...let the kids go to the school nearest where they live and BUS the Teachers!!!!!!!!!!!
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
"Non-white birthrates are relevant how?"
Well, if blacks and latino's have 2 births for every white birth that alone could account for schools becoming increasingly segregated as you poiint out in your post of 2:10.
teufelhunden 2 years, 3 months ago
More born in poverty-I get what you're saying fugitiveguy. There's a lot more to add to that statement.
inthepines 2 years, 3 months ago
If I was a minority I would be ashamed of being sent by bus to a school away from my home. What that action says it that minoritys are not smart enough to be in a school of predominately minorities. Instead the people againts community based schools want to distribute them around to all of the other schools so that they can "blend in" and not be left behind. They want to hide them. I guess it is easy to hide low scores among other high scores, but when a school performs low, you can not hide that. Instead of fixing the problem, they distribute it and hide it.
mcg2010 2 years, 3 months ago
Actually this has nothing to do with "hiding" minority students. Nor is it a matter of minority students not being smart enough. It is a matter of ensuring that each school will maintain equal funding and equal opportunities for every student.
Also, it is worth noting that test scores in 2010 actually went up (and that was under the WCPSS diversity policy).
It's very difficult for us in Moore County to compare, considering we only have 3 high schools. But in urban areas socio-economic status can determine the amount of funding and attention that a school receives. That is what makes this an issue based in equality. Trust me, the thousands of minorities students that have received the same education as their Caucasian counterparts are not ashamed of receiving an equal education.
native 2 years, 3 months ago
Agree
inthepines 2 years, 3 months ago
If certain community schools were predominately minority, then why would that cause them to recieve less funding????
mcg2010 2 years, 3 months ago
The not so dirty little secret is that the WCPSS has never based their diversity policy by looking and racial demographics. They don't say "oh this school is 78% percent white...hmm we should send more black kids there." They base it on socio-economic status. Specifically they use the percentage of students that receive free or reduced lunch. The reason this becomes such a race issue (which it is) is because socio-economic status is directly correlated to race in urban areas. So let's say that Debra Goldman flip-flops back to the Republican majority on the school board and they move forward with community schools. Then you will have school on the southeast side of Raleigh (predominately the "poorer" side of town) will have schools that will have 60%+ of the student population that receives free or reduced lunch. This can (and historically has) translated in to these schools receiving inadequate funding, and limiting opportunities for students. It is also hard to recruit teachers to work in these schools, knowing that they are facing an uphill battle. Which begins this vicious cycle for what will become under preforming schools.