An oldie but ...
As part of the discussion that continues in the comment thread on last Sunday's column, here is a previous column I wrote on the issue on May 16, 2004:
BACK TO THE FUTURE IN LOCAL SCHOOLS: BROWN V. BORED OF INTEGRATION
And so it has come to this.
A Greensboro couple, frustrated by the choice of public schools in their district, decide to sell their house and uproot their family.
To save enough money for a new home in north High Point, they move in for half a year with relatives. "We are not that well-off," says Faye Thompson, 39, a plan coordination consultant for Aetna Inc. "This was not easy."
But she and her husband Delancey, also 39, work and sacrifice to make it happen. Faye Thompson plugs their expenses onto a computer spread sheet and devises a two-year strategy to eliminate debt. They even order water when the family goes out to eat instead of tea or soft drinks. "Honestly, it was a stretch," says Faye Thompson, pausing to sigh. "A big stretch."
Then they painstakingly set goals: Their two daughters' new schools must be close to home and work; they must be known for strong test scores and must be connected to supportive communities.
All the planning and sacrifices paid off. The Thompsons settled last year into their new neighborhood. Both daughters are doing well in school, Brittany, 13, at Southwest Middle, where she is a cheerleader, and Sydney, 9, at Southwest Elementary.
The Thompsons praise the welcoming atmosphere and fervent parental involvement at both schools.
And Faye Thompson loves their new home in the Southern Chase subdivision off Willard Dairy Road. More importantly, says Delancey Thompson, a supervisor at Southern Foods, his children's new schools are so close he can hit their front doors from his yard with a football. That wasn't the case in their old district, where a parental visit might mean an hour-long round trip.
The Thompsons' suburban exodus is a new twist on an old story; they are African American. Yet they have gone to the same extraordinary lengths that many white parents have taken to choose the "right" schools by choosing the "right" neighborhoods. Faye Thompson says she wasn't altogether thrilled that her family had to redistrict themselves into their schools, lock, stock and mortgage. "But you do what you have to do."
Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education theoretically ended lawful segregation in public schools, we seem to be back where we started. The major thrust of the Brown case, remember, wasn't integration in and of itself - it was that racially segregated schools inherently weren't treated the same. The white schools got better facilities and materials. The black schools got what was left.
Flash forward to 2004 and the picture is all too familiar: the Guilford County Schools face the perception, and in some cases the reality, that all schools are not created equal. But now the segregation is both racial and socio-economic.
This is, of course, the crux of the contentious battle over the High Point high school magnet plan - an inexorable trend toward have and have-not schools, socially and racially. Soon the rest of the Guilford schools will face a similar reckoning.
Ours is one of the most segregated urban school systems in the state, almost as much as before 1971, when the then-Greensboro City Schools were forced to desegregate.
At my alma mater, Dudley High School, only 12 of 1,264 students are white. Out of a student body of 1,867, Northwest Guilford High enrolls only 96 black students. Five of 271 students at Vandalia Elementary are white. Seven of 376 students at Nathanael Greene Elementary are black. And so on.
Desegregation might have had a fighting chance in the 1970s and early '80s, but we didn't give it one. The early commitment to our better instincts faded. Housing integrated far too slowly, if at all. When blacks moved into such communities as Woodlea and Woodmere, whites quickly fled to somewhere, anywhere, else. Tired of "chasing white folks" and disillusioned with mixed results in the schools, many African Americans began to question whether it was worth it. "Integration is just another tool of a racist, white supremacist society ...," the late activist Ervin Brisbon said in 1999. At some point the whole community seemed to give up.
So, is it fair for people to do what the Thompsons have done? What about poorer parents who can't afford to make similar choices? The Thompsons say they share that concern, but they had to do what was best for their daughters. "It may not be fair to have-nots but is it fair to us?" says Delancey Thompson. "If you're able to move from one section of town to another to better yourself and your family, is that fair?
"We work for what we feel is important. Here's what I tell my kids: 'I can't change what happens to other people, but I can change what happens to you.' "
Comments (14)
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Allen,
Thank you for posting this oldie but goodie...
What's the deal? What excuses do you get when you ask why they are not busing in Greensboro? I was told that the whole High Point plan came about because "a few" parents came before the board and asked for more diversity in High Point? Is this just a crock? or has not a "few" parents done the same thing in Greensboro?
I want to see diversity in ALL of Guilford County schools. I'm so perplexed why it's only being done in High Point.
How sad that this family in your old article had to go thru what they did. Are they still around? It would be neat to check in on them and see how they are doing now? Did they get redistricted again with the HP lotto? Please do a follow up story and PLEASE find the answer for me WHY? WHY? WHY? is the rest of Guilford County being left out of the "choice" philosophy.
Thanks so much for your concern--seriously.
Posted on November 1, 2005 7:34 PM
"And Faye Thompson loves their new home in the Southern Chase subdivision off Willard Dairy Road. More importantly, says Delancey Thompson, a supervisor at Southern Foods, his children's new schools are so close he can hit their front doors from his yard with a football. That wasn't the case in their old district, where a parental visit might mean an hour-long round trip."
Allen, the same could be spoken about many families living in the vicinity of Southwest whose kids are at-risk under the school lottery to be sent to Central or Andrews. They, too, would like to be able to live close enough to their childrens' schools to hit the front doors from their yard with a football. Why is right to deny them that right, any more than the Thompsons? They bought their houses there for the same reasons that they Thompsons did. They don't want their kids going to school one hour away either. What distinguishes them from the Thompsons? Are you criticizing the Thompsons fokr wanting good things for their kids if they are able to work two jobs and scrimp to give it to them? You see, that is the mode that ost of those other families are in there, white or black.
You also mentioned that Dudley only had 12 white students. If you are concerned about the lack of diversity there and you believe in the school lottery concept, why don't you and the News-Record get behind a movement to demand that Dudley be placed into a lottery program along with Northwest. Let's have kids in large numbers traveling both ways on a bus for one hour every day both ways. Do you really think that will solve the problems of which you speak? If you really believe that this is the solution, then you should be compeled to fight for it.
Posted on November 1, 2005 7:44 PM
And when you are white and the Guilford County School Board takes away your choices you opt out into any of many private schools that can run circles around the Guilford County Schools.
Is that fair Allen or should I also pay for a black child to go to private school to equal things out? Or a poor white child?
I've got to tell you I normally don't focus on black and white or rich and poor the way you do, but I'll tell you what, I'll do a quick census for you around my neighborhood.
Starting with my house it goes white, mexican, turn the corner and white, black, turn the next corner and white, black again. All within walking distance of SW High School.
What in the world is your point? Do you want my family and my neighbors to quit working hard? Do you want me to work a second job and turn the funds over to you for the good of the community?
Or better yet, why don't you and I sell everything and move our families into a duplex in the most crime infested part of either High Point or Greensboro. You and I both work in downtown Greensboro and we could carpool.
Posted on November 1, 2005 7:53 PM
I feel the three postings above have said it all. Some people just don't get it. Oh and in reference to drinking "water" instead of coke and tea, our family (we are white and middle class) has been doing this for years. It is healthy. It saves money and shaves tax and tip off the bill the few times we can afford to eat out. You do what you have to do if you want to do better for your family.
We use our money that we save by drinking water to buy supplies for school like hand soap, kleenex and donating copy paper when there are shortages. Supplies that the school system should be providing to ALL children with our tax money. And yes, to buy expensive gasoline to drive to school.
Welcome to middle class America. Race is not the issue!
Posted on November 1, 2005 10:22 PM
Allen, I know you can't reply to every post, but on the other thread-"your sunday column" one, I mentioned Forsythe coutry where, from what I understand, anyone is free to attend any public school in the whole county, and how this still has not solved the "segregation" problem that you talk about recurring now. If free, open enrollment cannot solve the problem of giving poor students access to the best public schools in the county, it's hard to see what you are proposing-as it seems the only recourse would be strict, inviolate assignment of every single child in the county by Big Brother-the ultimate totalitarian control nightmare. Surely you cannot advocate this, but this is ultimately the ONLY way your utopian view could be accomplished.
Posted on November 2, 2005 9:15 AM
Reposted here because it is also relevant:
Let's do basic math (the kind that can be taught in a one room school house without electricity or running water)- If the county is 35% black, then how are you ever going to equalize the schools racially? You can't have 1/2 black 1/2 white without banning a large percentage of white kids from school. Nor can you have 1/2 black 1/2 hispanic 1/2 asian and 1/2 white. The numbers don't add up. At best it would seem that 30% is about the maximum black population you could get if you divided up all the children in Guilford County and spread them around. Therefore, there is clearly a limit on how integrated a school can be.
Further, I still don't get the learn by osmosis argument. Put a rich kid next to a poor kid and the poor kid starts doing better. How exactly does that happen? Put a black kid next to a white kid and his grades go up. Isn't that insulting enough? Doesn't that scream of racism because it is premised on blacks needing whites to succeed or to do better?
Imagine we have one school that is brand new and built in 2005 and an old school built in 1955. They both teach English, reading, algebra, spelling, geometry, basic science, and arithmetic. Tell me, which of these subjects has changed since 1955, and which of these requires anything that was invented after 1955 in order to be taught? How did the people who went to school in 1955 learn these subjects when they did not have the same things we have now?
That is the problem with equating spending money to improving education. It does not logically make sense. A person can learn even in an old school house without the modern amenities. History proves this or we would have a bunch of uneducated morons running around. At one time a school built in 1955 was new and modern and people learned there. The core subjects haven't changed, so tell me how the dollars will help?
Posted on November 2, 2005 3:38 PM
Allen, the prerogatives of every parent would be served with unrestricted choice to enable access to any school in the system; and with vouchers. I understand these goals are a long shot; but they are intrinsically fair because all parents are provided with more access to the widest range of alternatives for their kids. (Let the "market" and the school system work out the details.) While John Gehris argues that it may not provide perfect balance, it would provide more opportunity.
Posted on November 2, 2005 4:06 PM
Samuel,
Actually, Guilford County Schools is 57 percent minority, 43 percent white this year. The district has gotten more and more minority every year for the past decade-plus.
Not that your points aren't still valid, but I just thought I would pass that along.
Posted on November 2, 2005 4:44 PM
Bruce,
Sam said 30% black population in the county. You said 57% minority in the schools. There is a difference in the two groups. Perhaps, you should reconcile the difference between the two numbers.
Posted on November 2, 2005 5:08 PM
Actually, I said the county black population I believe is approximately 36-37%. However, that does not necessarily correspond to school age children, and not all school age children are in school due to dropouts and special needs children. I also was referring to black students, not all minorities even though that concept was dealt with in my post. There are a growing number of private schools that are majority white by far, so that would skew the public school dynamic. I do not believe that whites leave the public school system due to minorities, but rather because they believe private schools are better.
I think this is true in many respects, but it is a proportionate thing. Some public schools are better than others. I went to both public and private schools. I think the private school I attended for elementary school was better than the public school I would have attended. However, I believe that the public middle school (Griffin) and high school I attended (Andrews) were very good when I was there. Both schools were well integrated racially and economically. I can't speak for other schools.
Posted on November 2, 2005 8:06 PM
I have done some additional research, and according to the US Census Bureau (2002), Guilford County is 64.5% white, 29.3% black, 3.8% hispanic, and 2.4% Asian. The Guilford county school enrollment is approximately 49% white, 26% black, 14% Asian, with the remainder being of other races. Hispanics are not classified separately and are included among the other totals (National Center for Education Statistics (2000). http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/Master.asp?id=P6&cat=1&geo=county&county=081&district=&res=&tablvl=1&state=37&u=1&et=5&type=P
So my original point not only holds, but is actually strengthened.
The other poster who cited the 57%-43% statistic is referring to all non-whites, which is not really reliable because Asian students outperform all other categories in academics, a fact often ignored by those who argue that diversity is somehow related to academic performance and that minorities are at a disadvantage because they are outnumbered.
Posted on November 2, 2005 9:21 PM
Stormy,
Minorities includes Asian, Black and other non-whites. As Mr. Spagnola said, some white students attend private schools. There are also many Christians in North Carolina who prefer to homeschool their children because of all the liberal policies and lack of consequences for not following the rules that goes on in our public schools today.
Bruce, if whites are now the lower number, are they not the "minorities" in public schools?
Posted on November 3, 2005 12:43 AM
Yeah, I guess they are, although white students still are the single largest ethnic group in the school system. "Minority" is just a catch-all term for all folks who aren't white. Still, I can't help but laugh when administrators talk about "majority minority" schools. That sounds so contradictory!
And the 57 percent minority-43 percent white number I cited are current numbers for the 2005-06 school year, as compiled in the GCS 10-day attendance report that is submitted to the state.
I wasn't trying to contradict anything Samuel was saying - just provide some up-to-date statistics on the make-up of Guilford County Schools.
Posted on November 3, 2005 12:27 PM
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Posted on August 2, 2006 10:02 AM