It's a Different World...Community Forums part 2

So I went to my second forum last night on DCPS school reconstruction (for backstory, see here). Talk about a different world. The stark constrast between the two meetings represent the economic and racial segregation of this city (monday night's meeting in SE was 100% African American and mostly middle to low SES and last night's meeting in NW was 99.9% White and mostly middle to high SES). And while similar concerns were raised about the reconstruction, the reasons behind the concerns were very different:

*Why certain schools were first on the list: Parents and community members were concerned about how schools were prioritized. They had issues with DCPS using the educational adequacy score (how well the building meets the standards of the Master Education Plan) and test scores to make their list of the order in which schools were to receive construction. In other words, if a school has middle to low educational adequacy scores but higher test scores, they could be moved down on the list of priorities than other schools who had similar educational adequacy scores but low test scores. Parents were upset about this because they felt that their schools were being "punished for doing things right". In other words, if they are following NCLB and their children are successful, that shouldn't hinder the timeframe for reconstruction. On DCPS's side, they were saying, well, if your school is doing academically well, then obviously the building isn't explicitly causing an immediate problem, so it can maybe wait a couple of years.

*Demographics: this was an interesting issue because apparently, NW is considered a "stable" neighborhood according to the demographers because there is no new construction, housing, etc in the works. The parents however, had an issue with that because while the neighborhood is "stable" (no new construction going on), the neighborhoods are turning from old retired couples to young families, which is creating a population swell in these schools.

*Swing schools were also brought up in this meeting, but only as a logistical issue for parents. No mention of youth violence, gangs, or mixing rival neighborhoods.

*Interim facilities support: same concerns were raised. Parents were mostly concerned about air conditioning and plumming in schools.

**What was interesting in this meeting was the difference in empowerment, trust, and emotion of the participants. On Monday, emotions ran high. There was a lot frustration from parents for a system that keeps failing their kids; anger because they keep hearing the same things over and over and don't see any change in the status quo; and a sense of helplessness for being a change agent in this process.

Last night's meeting was much more calm. While some parents were tenacious in bringing up their points and concerns, there wasn't the level of anger or sense of powerlessness. While the lack of trust was still there, people were much more optimistic and hopeful that change will come.

The differences between these community forums demonstrate the institutionalized system of privileges and societal structures that have created this economic and racial segregation in our country. This was just another example of why we need to make sure, above everything, that poor children are in good schools. Or else,we are never going to get out of this state of inequity and disempowerment.

....stay tuned for next week b/c there are a few more forums!