Race, class and achievement: Persistent issues fester
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Two stories today focus harsh light on a bitter, if familiar, reality. While it’s far from news that poor kids and kids of color fare less well than their better-heeled, white and Asian peers, confirmation of these long-entrenched trends is never welcome.
In the Times, Manny Fernandez previews a study from NYU’s presigious Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy and its Institute for Education and Social Policy that documents academic shortfalls for kids living in public housing. The study compiles data on 343 public-housing projects and 112,000 children aged 5 to 18, 95% of whom are living in poverty, and 56% in single-parent homes. Although the report relies on troublingly old data, from 2002-2003, its conclusion is, unfortunately, entirely current: Lower fifth-grade test scores predicted higher dropout rates; obstacles at home profoundly affect students’ ability to learn, achieve, and succeed in school. And in the News, Merideth Kolodner documents a correlation between progress report grades and race: Schools that scored poorly on the city’s progress reports have higher-than-citywide-averages of African-American and Hispanic students.
Chancellor Klein’s in Australia this week; one only wonders what New York City’s complex experience with educating poor, urban, often under-served youth will mean to the folks Down Under.
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I am an African American woman who was born and raised in Harlem. For most of my youth, I was in a single parent home in section 8 housing. We struggled. I did not drop out of high school. In fact, I now have a doctorate degree. What I also did not do is stay in the NYC public schools beyond elementary school. Call it luck or the kindness of strangers, but thankfully a superior educational experience in an independent school was bestowed upon me. Small class sizes, dedicated teachers who treated us with respect, not as “monsters” to be managed. I was well educated.
It is time to move beyond these descriptive stats and focus on what makes some kids resilient (both in public and independent/parochial schools)where others fail. What supports are effective when one’s family or community or even culture are not enough? We know that many Black and Latino kids are struggling. Tell us why others are not and then how can we make our schools, families and communities stronger!
Comment by One who beat the odds — November 24, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
I think public libraries can help. Most have RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) programs for kids and teens. Kids can get a free book every three weeks. Keep in mind, they also have free computer access. Why can’t DOE work with the libraries? I know it isn’t always easy for kids to register for a card if the parent doesn’t speak English or is at work, so provide better opportunities for kids while they’re in school to know about their local libraries and what’s available to them.
Comment by anonymous — November 24, 2008 @ 8:10 pm
One who beat the odds, congratulations, and your success and resilience is both inspiring and challenging. Yet telling others how they can strengthen their cultures or their thinking about education is a delicate venture — you were lucky, but many others are not, as you well know, and children should be able to thrive in the public schools. How can families hear that they are failing their children without feeling (unduly) under attack? I know I would feel terribly defensive if someone swooped in and critiqued my parenting choices; how would that defensiveness help my children? The descriptive stats are cited as more of a challenge to DOE than anything else: How can they claim strides in closing the proverbial achievement gap when such disparity is endemic in our schools? Anonymous at 8:10, you’re right about the libraries as a resource, but I wonder about how they’re used, and whether kids can get there after school. Some schools are sited near libraries, others are at a distance, but many try to introduce kids to libraries by giving them cards, etc. I wish having a card would bring more kids to books, but I have my doubts…
Comment by Helen — November 24, 2008 @ 11:20 pm
One Who Beat The odds, while your success is undeniable, wasn’t part of the reason why independent school accepted you was that you showed promise? That’s the stark difference between public and independent schools - the former must take everyone who comes through the door, the latter can cherry pick those who are most likely to succeed. It’s debatable whether private schools would be as successful if all of a sudden they have the same admission criteria or lack thereof as the public schools do.
Comment by Anonimous — November 25, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
One Who Beat the Odds: your question about community supports and what can be done to strength a whole community (often with schools at the center of that effort but not as the sole means of support) immediately made me think of the Harlem Children’s Zone philosophy. I am reading Paul Tough’s new book on the Harlem Children’s Zone right now and will blog about it after Thanksgiving, but if you want to know more about how many experts have struggled to find the answers to some of your questions during the past several decades, go to your library and check out the book: “Whatever It Takes”.
Comment by Lindsey — November 25, 2008 @ 1:52 pm