D.C.’s educational battle – Books vs Boundaries
By: Dr. Samori Swygert
The Mayoral race within the Nation’s Capitol is embroiled in some of the most captivating events. The current Mayor, Vincent Gray, has been swaying the voting tide by picking up extra support from ex-offenders. He’s also under scrutiny of a campaign scandal from his first election.
D.C. has also been in the thick of a social, and community overhaul. D.C. used to be referred to as “Chocolate City”, but a surge in city development, specialized employment, and cost of living has shifted the traditionally African American demographic to the outskirts of the city and local suburbs of Maryland. Individuals and families that have resided in D.C. for decades have been essentially , “priced out”.
A high influx of non-black citizens flush with cash and high paying jobs have replaced a significant African American demographic. Charter schools have bloomed all over the city, and now citizens are facing another social obstacle, EDUCATION. The access to equal education is at the center of debate now. The city is working on proposals that will either physically redefine the geographical boundaries on the map, and thus change school zones for the residents, or change the policy of what schools children are able to attend. Is this a form of “educational gerrymandering”?
The mayoral candidates have to address school overcrowding, under attendance, feeder patterns, and under performing schools. According to a Washington Post article, some parents are even considering relocation as an option pending the final outcomes of the education proposal. The education proposal is expected to be finalized this July.
Council Member, David Catania, is quoted as saying” I won’t support a plan that moves children from a higher-performing to a lower-performing school”. That sound’s good at first when you say it, BUT what it’s not saying is more troubling.
I have a few questions.
Why are there higher performing and lower performing schools? Will the city redistribute high performing teachers evenly throughout the city? What mechanism is in place that allows the channeling of the best teachers into a particular zone or school, while other schools are deprived? What performance improving strategies are you actively enacting to raise the performance level of lower performing schools?
A school is only as good as the teachers, budget, resources, and curriculum. D.C. is one city and the citizens pay taxes toward public education. Each student should be afforded an equal chance and opportunity to a quality education if public schools are funded by the people’s tax dollars. Why should geographical locale deny or afford two standards of education.
This is back to the issue of SEPARATE BUT EQUAL.
The teachers, money, upgrades, facilities, equipment, supplies, resources and other educational amenities should be distributed and allocated in an equitable manner to offset any disparity. Once children are within the confines of our public schools, each child should be afforded the same education regardless of their city zip code. We should exhaust all efforts to correct and standardize the aforementioned factors, because you can’t control the student’s domestic circumstance. Every child has a different domestic situation (parental involvement, income, community safety), and learning style, but identical quality education should be the constant that reduces the probability of our children falling to the wayside.
Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets Restaurant, is also a mayoral candidate. Andy Shallal said, ” I would put the whole boundary thing on hold. We need to not focus on boundaries but on fixing schools.” I like Andy’s response. Playing musical chairs with our children’s education is not cool. Fix the schools so that no matter which school a student attends, they can obtain a seamless continuum of quality education. A family should be able to move from Northeast D.C. to Southeast D.C. and receive the same quality education.
Education and Blueberry Muffins
If education was like a $3.45 freshly baked Blueberry muffin from Starbucks in Northeast, how would you feel paying the same $3.45 for a Blueberry muffin from Starbucks in Southeast, but the muffin is 4 days old and moldy? If Starbucks has true concern about its’ brand and image, they would guarantee the same quality freshness, ingredients, and customer service despite the geographical location of their stores. That’s how I see the accessibility and affordability of education.
Our children’s future should not be predicated and dictated on the basis of their current address of residence, or GPS coordinates.
What say you??
Source
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-mayoral-race-injects-uncertainty-into-school-boundary-overhaul/2014/03/28/03ab9e7e-b67a-11e3-b84e-897d3d12b816_story.html?hpid=z3
