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Is Integration Your Silver Bullet? Time to Get Real.

Dec 5, 2017 12:00:00 AM

by Tanesha Peeples

Hey, guess what? That whole school reform thing? They’ve figured it out. That’s right, it turns out all students can achieve, excel academically and grow to be well-rounded, successful adults…as long as they attend integrated schools. Sure, we’ve all seen the research. Not only can kids of color benefit from being in a diverse school, so can the White kids. But wait. People are making it sound like you can drop a bunch of Black kids in schools with a bunch of White kids and boom—the systemic inequities and public policy failures that have deeply segregated our cities for generations suddenly vanish. I can’t see it happening like that. For instance, the other day I saw this report from the UCLA Civil Rights Project concluding that integrating public schools in New Jersey was critical to improving educational outcomes for Black students. Hey, I’m not against strategies that bring diverse people together. But these guys basically deliver a report that would read to Black people as: “Your child would do better academically and be more socially evolved if they went to school with White kids.” When I want to know what’s up in New Jersey, I turn to Laura Waters, who’s been blogging there for more than a decade. And she’s not buying it. Not only does she see a bunch of influence and dollars from teachers unions and groups who want to keep things the same, but she points out that the report provides no real-world solutions that we could actually, like, do.

Charter Segregation? Really?

So I was thinking maybe I should write a response to that UCLA report—and then over the weekend comes a piece published by The Associated Press (AP) that straight up blames charter schools for increasing segregation in schools. https://twitter.com/EricCeleste/status/937686921953841152 Crazy, right? I mean, where was AP during…I don’t know, maybe the entire history of public education in America? I mean, let’s keep it real. Even after Brown v. Board sought to integrate our public schools, generations of racist housing policies have enforced hyper-segregated, high-poverty neighborhoods with struggling, under-resourced schools. Charter schools showed up as one option to provide some (hopefully) better public options for these communities, and most of their students in these neighborhoods are, unsurprisingly, Black and low-income. Now AP looks at that and says, uh-oh, these charter schools are exacerbating segregation? How about those alternative facts, ladies and gentlemen.

Sounding Off

I don’t know Robin Lake personally, but she got the point across in under 280 characters. https://twitter.com/RbnLake/status/937339242002268160 https://twitter.com/RbnLake/status/937421105349910529 And come to think of it, weren’t charter schools getting slammed for not serving the local communities? Turns out you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. https://twitter.com/chrisbarbic/status/937465026990039040 My colleague, Mike Vaughn, actually read down to the bottom of that AP piece and turns out parents are choosing schools that actually work for their kids. Imagine that. https://twitter.com/MVaughnCityEd/status/937535135099928576 And my homie Erika asks where AP was when she was attending a highly-segregated school in a posh suburb. https://twitter.com/esanzi/status/937714755191615489 A real drop-the-mic moment on Twitter was when Chris Stewart came with the heat, suggesting that people either put up or shut up. https://twitter.com/citizenstewart/status/937492708356251648 https://twitter.com/citizenstewart/status/937727875410784256 Oh, and schools with predominantly Black student bodies can work. After all, historically-Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been winning since way back when Black people weren’t allowed to attend public universities. https://twitter.com/citizenstewart/status/937496564175687682 But my favorite, Howard Fuller, came through and reminded us of what this is really all about. https://twitter.com/HowardLFuller/status/937391329373573122
Photo by @amyhilbrand, Twenty20-licensed.

Tanesha Peeples

Tanesha Peeples is driven by one question in her work—“If not me, then who?” As the former Deputy Director of Activist Development for brightbeam, Tanesha merges the worlds of communications and grassroots activism to push for change in the public education system. Her passion for community and relentless mission for justice and liberation drive her in uplifting and amplifying the voices and advocacy of those that are often ignored. Tanesha wholeheartedly believes that education is the foundation for success. Her grand vision is one where everyone—regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender or ZIP code—can have access to a comfortable quality of life and enjoy the freedoms and liberties promised to all Americans. And that's what she works towards every day.

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