The concept of the Delaware neighborhood school law has merit and who wouldn’t oppose it? Look close, I said “concept”.
I personally think it would be great if every child could attend a public school in their neighborhood. Back in the day when Delaware had real neighborhood schools, school were the anchor and center of the community. Parents were more involved and Delaware did have a world class education system. The desegregation order came about because Delaware’s government refused to lift the racist laws and treated black students as second class citizens. Delaware could of had implemented a school choice law with transportation allowing all students access to other schools. There was nothing stopping Delaware from assigned black children to the closest school.
If someone were to ask me, do you favor neighborhood schools? My response would be yes! However, if someone were to ask me, do you favor Delaware’s current neighborhood school plan? The answer would be NO!
Delaware’s neighborhood school plan caters to the more affluent parents who claimed they were against force busing because of the long bus rides to and from school. Many narrow-minded people think force busing has ended. Red Clay still has force busing for those middle and high school students living in Wilmington. Many Wilmington children live closer to A.I. High School but yet are bused to Dickinson High School. Red Clay is adding building space to A.I. High School to accommodate Choice students who created the over capacity issue. But yet, Red Clay wouldn’t add space to A.I. High School to undo an injustice that forces Wilmington children to ride buses to Dickinson when A.I. is closer.
Sure I am for neighborhood schools but only when we have real equity. Red Clay continues to build new schools in the suburbs under the excuse of the Neighborhood School Act. They pour the Kool-aid hiding behind the law at the same time forcing Wilmington children to take long bus rides and refuses to build traditional middle and high schools in Wilmington. At this time Red Clay has no traditional middle or high schools in Wilmington to delivery the promise of neighborhood schools. One of their excuses is, Wilmington Red Clay schools would become racially identifiable and that might trigger court action. It seems if schools are racially identifiable base on white student population there is no issues. However, if based on black student population there is a concern.
I am for neighborhood schools but only if there were equity across the district. Why should one group of students enjoy the fruits of neighborhood schools where another groups does not?
Sure Choice school option is a big part of Delaware’s neighborhood school plan. However, high poverty students are locked out because of lack of transportation. Also, schools are crowed to a point some are closed to those applying under school Choice. Red Clay uses the demand for more seats in it’s suburban school to justify building more school or expanding existing ones. However, not for school or needed schools in Wilmington. Red Clay’s answer to more school is Wilmington is, let the charter schools accommodate those needs. It’s one thing to past the buck but I think another to turn your backs on the needs of children living in your district.
If I were a student forced to take a pro position on Delaware neighborhoods and required to write a report. I would say, with all due respects Mr. Kingsfield, is it possible I could take a pro position on the neighborhood school “concept” and give you my opinion on Delaware’s flawed neighborhood school law? :) LOL
To the professor and his students, I had a great time today. Thanks for having me
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show off.
Kilroy, are there Wilmington civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, that are/have been making a stink about the various important issues that you raise here? I’m new to much of these topics, locally, and I’m repeatedly amazed by how much seems to be flying under the radar in DE without the public outcry that one would expect in this century. I recently saw that the NAACP and eight other similar organization in NYC are suing various public high schools there that have test-based admission and (surprise!) largely white or Asian, non-poor students. The schools, such as Bronx Science, sound a lot like CSW, only not as segregated as that is–they end up with something like 10% African Americans, while CSW is close to zero as I recall. The NYC case may not succeed, obviously–but have such things been tried here? If not, I’d be interested in your views of why not (or those of anyone else who has been following these issues in DE for a while).
Governor Markell owns whats left of the civil right leaders in Delaware.
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
Right on!
I hear ya, Kilroy, but this issue is more complicated than adding a middle and high school in the city – which I know you know.
A high school and middle school in the city would simply continue the re-segregation we see at the elementary level. Without a strong (almost super human) commitment to equity the only thing these middle/high schools would accomplish is creating suburban middle/high schools that look like North Star. Basically, they would do what Neighborhood Schools accomplished at the elementary level – create unequal dumping ground schools in the city.
There are many complications beyond the re-segregation factor.
Its time to fund traditional public schools like vo-techs. NCC votech tax rate is equal among every property within NCC including city residence. Honestly, State legislators set the vo-tech tax rates throughout the state. So, they need to do the same for traditional schools and perhaps they get up off their asses and pass real financial transparency.laws.it may be time for a county wide school district with one equal tax and one school board. Also, incorporate Choice schools with transportation.
As far as continue re-segregation, it is an issue and to keeping it at the elementary level for fear of federal intervention is an injustice in itself! Are we in agreement that the Delaware Neighborhood Schools Act is de jure segregation and not de facto? If Delaware Neighborhood Schools Act is legal therefore there should be no reason to not have neighborhood middle and high school in the city of Wilmington. Also, the NSA allows charter schools to be racially identifiable.
No here is the big one! When the state board approve all the district’s NSA plans it did so based on what the district agreed to do. Conrad was changed to all choice magnet school and the state board didn’t review the impact it would have on the NSA. Same goes for adding new schools. Also, why are charter schools subjected to re-segregation concerns as was with traditional schools? Some play the card that parents chose to send their children to predominantly African-American schools. But I say what are their options? No Choice transportation are like shackles holding Wilmington children in city schools. Why is the state board allowing a mega charter school in downtown Wilmington that fosters re-segregation? .
Wilmington is cut into four traditional school districts! Something has to change
Diversity for diversity sake does not equate to equity. Neither I nor society is creating the “dumping ground” situation and it is not society’s nor government role to redistribute people. The effort to “decide” for other people what is best for them will not lead to success. People need to decide for themselves and make good decisions for themselves. Unfortunately this discussion is an example of people trying to make good decisions for the their children and a government thwarting that effort. The NSA was/ is an attempt of concerned citizens trying to legally force its government to do the right thing. The result has been school districts twisting into pretzels to thwart the NSA.
When there were neighborhood schools (true neighborhood schools) there was also a city of wilmington schoold district. Where PS duPont was a big deal
Isnt it funny though how everyone wants to send their kids to public high schools in the burbs, but private high schools in the city are full – Padua, Ursuline, Salesianum, Charter (yes, i consider it a private school).
I too see Charter as a private school that discriminates against kids of color. I resent having to pay the tuition of those that attend there.
What about a taxpayer suit against the state for requiring property owners in CSD & RCCSD to finance segregationist schools? The premise of the suit would be that the state has allowed schools like CSW and NCS to persist in demonstrably segregationist admission and other policies (demonstrable by comparing their racial & economic demographics to those of children in their enrollment area). Plaintiffs in the suit would object to being compelled to finance institutions that disregard civil rights law–institutions which thereby diminish both the educational opportunity of most children in the plaintiffs’ school district and the desirability of the plaintiffs’ communities as places to raise children (which of course has implications for property values).
It’s worth pursuing–esp. since a lawsuit constructed along these lines could include plaintiffs who do not have schoolage children (since the suit would not be about access to the schools in question). In my experience many older adults where I live are surprised and shocked to learn about NCS’s policies and see them as damaging to our community–I think some would be willing to sign on to such a class-action suit (the same may be true in Red Clay). I’ll look into this.
Citizen,
Please explain exactly what NCS policies are damaging to the community. Where is your proof of racial demographic differences between NCS and its enrollment area? The CSD school enrollments are not representative of the overall population. Do you have the demographic information of all k-8 age children in the area? I have not seen any such data posted.
Making claims without evidence does not make a claim true. Selecting which data you want to use rather than using complete data does not support an accurate claim.
P.S. It has been a while – I hope you enjoyed your vacation.
Guest remains in the “you can’t prove to me that NCS, with 15.1% low income students” DOESN’T look just like the community it serves.
Guest’s denial is incurable.
I simply want to see the proof that this claim is valid. So far, no one has posted a complete data comparison. Would anyone accept a comparison of NCS vs. CSD’s worst performing school? No, because it would be an invalid comparison. Narrowing data to support a cause does not validate the position.
By the way, I find it interesting that no one is screaming about re-segregation with the announcement that Kuumba is planning to expand. I guess it’s OK when more minority and low income students are being pulled from traditional schools. It seems a little hypocritical to me, though.
Here’s your easy answer to segregationist neighborhood school plans BUT it requires Jack Markell increase transporation spending:
Universal choice and guaranteed free transporation. Parents who want their children culturally diverse schools will be given the means to achieve their desires. Parents who want their children closer to home can continue to enroll in their neighborhood schools.
Sure, it’s complicated and it doesn’t guarantee diverse schools. But, we’ve tried forced busing, we’ve tried feeder schools, we’ve tried charter schools. Why not try this model, too?
The problem with that, Elizabeth, is that the Neighborhood Schools Act trumps/kills Choice. Meaning Choice only opens up if there’s space once the neighborhood enrolls. Many of the most “desirable” schools never open to choice, or only have a few choice spaces.
Just to clarify–universal school choice means that each household ranks the schools in its district that it would like to send children to, and there is no address-based prioritization–is that right? Are there good examples of how this has worked elsewhere in the U.S.? My gut reaction is that, given the unusual post-1978 configuration of NCCo. school districts (e.g. CSD’s uninhabited strip along I-95!), “universal choice” would precipitate further outmigration of middle class and more affluent families from CSD esp.–but possibly from other NCCo. districts, too. I can’t see many families buying a home in an area where their kindergartener might be assigned to a school 12 miles from their home, along a highway. In a more compact or logically constituted district geography, this might work–and counteract residential segregation–but here? Can you see people staying in CSD, esp., if they have the option to move elsewhere (e.g. PA “suburbs”)? I just can’t.
Cambridge, Massachusetts is an all Choice district. My brother and his family moved their several summers ago and discovered that their daughter wasn’t assigned to a school. The only school that had space (for a non-kindergartener, or “entry” level) was the struggling school located quite far away from where they lived.
Luckily, they had me
I told them to go to the district office and what words/terms to use. They got into the school they wanted. So… even in one of the most highly educated cities in the world, choice is a problem.
Very simple solution, TAKE THE MONEY AWAY FROM THE POLITICIANS AND PUT IT INTO THE HANDS OF THE PARENTS/CARETAKERS!
There should be a grand total of 3 school districts, one for each county!
Families should not be prisoners of their zip codes!
Bottom line, education is fundamentally valued differently by each and every individual!
Individuals that make up any group will find a way to get the education they desire, financial or geographic obstacles besides.
That doesn’t mean it is ok to place obstacles in the way nor does it mean doing all the heavy lifting for individuals who don’t value it enough to do their part.
Kilroy and John will continue to focus on charters and corporations, when the educational football will always remain in the hands of a monopoly of power brokers of one stripe or another. Now it is bureaucrats who control the money and power, with charters and corporations trying to wrestle it away from them.
Until parents have the control, which appears to be never, ALL supposed “fixes” will never truly work and the football will just continue to bounce around from broker to broker at the expense of the individuals and groups with the least amount of power/money!
I mean, look at the fact that Glasgow has a Sandusky in its midst, yet due to powerful friends/relatives in high places, that Sandusky gets to continue working with teenagers. Meanwhile, the general public is unaware and can do nothing about it.
Some people want to be sheep by choice, others don’t even know they are.