|
   2012
EDUCATION EDITORIAL SERIES |
ANDY BRACK
Diversity
lacking at more than one fourth of S.C. schools
By
Andy Brack
Statehouse Report
Part 1 of 4
JUNE
15, 2012 -- Integration may not be working in South Carolina for
at least a quarter of the state's public schools.
 The
reasons are varied. There's more of a focus on neighborhood schools.
An increase in alternative public schools, such as charter and magnet
schools, takes bright, often white kids out of mainstream schools,
which, in turn, lowers general school diversity. Finally, families
with economic means in rural and urban areas often abandon public
schools for private alternatives, either because they don't want
their kids to mix with less fortunate kids or they don't think public
schools are performing.
During
the next four weeks, we'll offer an editorial series that looks
into what's happened to integration over the last 40 years in South
Carolina. We'll look at whether we're failing our children or adapting
to more modern times. In the end, we'll look at some strategies
to strengthen public schools and make them better.
 First,
a little history.
The
state's 1895 Constitution called for a "liberal system of free
public schools for all children between the ages of six and twenty-one
years" (Article XI, Section 5). The next section included a
provision for a $1 poll tax to be used for education. Section 7
said, "separate schools shall be provided for children of the
white and colored races, and no child of either race shall ever
be permitted to attend a school provided for children of the other
race."
Fast
forward to Clarendon County in 1947 when 22 black families filed
a case against the local school district to get some gas money for
a bus so children didn't have to walk to their "separate but
equal" schools. By 1949, the Briggs v. Elliott case blossomed
in scope to seek equal educational opportunities. Three years later,
the U.S. Supreme Court combined five school equality cases, including
Briggs, and heard oral arguments. In 1954, the court ruled unanimously
that separate schools were not equal and that segregation was harmful.
In a subsequent decision a year later, the court ruled that federal
district courts would oversee desegregation "with all deliberate
speed."
 It
took, however, several years and a lot of turmoil for schools in
South Carolina to be desegregated. Around 1970, with the threat
of federal money being withheld, any remaining school districts
acquiesced and put black and white kids in the same classes.
As
desegregation moved forward, scores of private schools -- often
known as white "seg" schools -- cropped up across the
state. Today, about 39,000 students in South Carolina attend an
estimated 262 private schools, many of which are predominantly white.
Additionally, the state Department of Education estimates about
20,000 students are "home-schooled," or educated in their
homes.
The
current state Constitution calls for the state to "provide
for the maintenance and support of a system of free public schools
open to all children in the state." More than 700,000 of South
Carolina's children attend 1,150 public schools across the state.
According
to data from the State Department of Education, South Carolina has
109 public schools in which 90 percent or more of the student body
is black. When the threshold of black students in schools is dropped
to 80 percent, the number of predominantly black grows to 164. Only
two of these schools are outside of the Pee Dee, Midlands or Lowcountry.
 Remarkably,
the state has almost exactly the same number of schools with 80
percent or more white students -- 161 schools -- as it does predominantly
black schools. But when the threshold is increased to 90 percent
or more white, there are only 37 schools that are overwhelmingly
white. Only four of the 37 are outside of the Upstate.
Just
looking at the numbers, it's pretty clear 325 out of the state's
1,150 public schools -- 28 percent -- are predominantly black or
white. In the Upstate, a high number of whiter schools makes some
sense because the black population in the region is far less than
it is in the lower part of the state. Only 16 percent of Anderson
County's population is black. In neighboring Pickens County, blacks
comprise just 6.6 percent of the population.
But
whatever is happening outside of the Upstate makes one wonder: Are
we failing some of our children, particularly those in predominantly
black schools because of a lack of diversity?
NEXT
WEEK: Are we failing some of our children?
Andy
Brack is publisher of Statehouse Report. He can be reached at:
brack@statehousereport.com.
Low
expectations fuel "dis-integration"
By
Andy Brack
Statehouse Report
Part 2 of 4
JUNE
22, 2012 -- The 164 predominantly black public schools in South
Carolina seem to have one thing in common -- low expectations by
their communities.
On
paper, the schools' challenges appear almost insurmountable. There's
little diversity, a lot of poverty and a relatively low on-time
graduation rate.
But
visit the schools and prepare to be surprised.
For
example, take Burke High School in Charleston, a facility built
for 1,200 students but home to half that many from grades seven
to 12. Out of 596 students in 2010-11, only four were white. The
rest were black, except for two.
On
paper, Burke is failing. Considered an "at-risk" school
being looked at for possible takeover by the state, Burke has a
55.6 percent graduation rate and just over half of students passing
two standardized subtests of the high school exit exam.
But
Burke also offers an outstanding ROTC program. It's got a cool literary
magazine. It has a 90.3 percent attendance rate, a third of students
enrolled in advanced programs and a very high percentage of parents
attending conferences. More than half of teachers have advanced
degrees. The average teacher salary in 2011 was $42,609. There's
an energy at the school where visitors are welcomed with a big banner
that says "Burke High School Is Always Striving to Be the Best."
The
story is similar at Scott's Branch High School outside Summerton
in rural Clarendon County. On paper, the rural school looks like
it might have problems. More than 94 percent of the school is black.
Only 62 percent of students passed two standardized tests in 2011.
But
this school, which in 1947 gave birth to South Carolina's battle
to end segregation, is a comfortable, friendly, modern place to
visit. Students in ninth grade get laptops to use for free for a
year. The Internet allows students to take advanced courses in virtual
classrooms.
"One
thing I've never accepted is that the quality of education depends
on the color of skin," said Clarendon One Superintendent Rose
Wilder, who seems to know every student by name when walking through
school hallways.
What's
missing is cultural diversity. Predominantly black schools like
Burke and Scott's Branch in urban and rural settings across the
lower half of the state don't have what most kids take for granted
in many suburban schools -- kids with various skin colors and socioeconomic
backgrounds.
Just
look at West Ashley High School in Charleston, where about half
of the students are black and most of the rest are white. Not only
are they exposed to different cultures, but the size of the school
-- 1,871 students in 2011 -- offers students a lot of educational
options.
"Very
often, the societal expectations that kids bring to the school are
emulated by other students," observed West Ashley Principal
Mary Runyon. "If you don't have these peer models, it's very
difficult to break out of those neighborhood expectations"
in schools with little diversity.
Maurice
Cannon, principal at Burke, said he wished his students had more
cultural diversity because they would be able to learn about different
experiences that just the so-called black experience. They'd be
able to debate and discuss different ways of doing things and, in
turn, grow.
But
at schools like Burke and Scott's Branch, the schools don't appear
to be failing the students. Instead, communities seem to be failing
students because they don't embrace their schools as hubs of the
community. Imagine, for example, what Burke would be like if white
parents who send their kids to tony private schools were to support
Burke fully. Instead of being half empty, it would be full -- of
students, of curiosity and of different experiences.
Yes,
public schools in South Carolina desegregated. We don't have separate
but equal school systems, one each for blacks and whites. But 40
years after desegregation, we now have a lot of schools like Scott's
Branch and Burke that are functionally segregated or suffering "dis-integration."
Why? Because, in large part, people with economic means, most of
whom are white, send their kids to private schools or teach them
at home.
Unfortunately,
that's the way it is. But we shouldn't accept it. Why? Because it's
continuing to foster a patrician culture for the next generation.
And until we get around that, we really are failing a lot of South
Carolina's children.
NEXT
WEEK: The advantages of more diversity
Andy
Brack is publisher of Statehouse Report. He can be reached at:
brack@statehousereport.com.
Piecemeal
solutions not the answer to better schools
By
Andy Brack
Statehouse Report
Part 3 of 4
JUNE
29, 2012 -- With more than a fourth of South Carolina's public schools
being functionally segregated today, it's legitimate to question
whether policymakers ought to look for ways to reduce racial disparities
in South Carolina classrooms.
Earlier
in this series, we outlined how 28.2 percent of the state's public
schools are predominantly black or white. Some 160 schools, generally
from the Midlands to the coast, have 80 percent or more black students
while a similar number, many of which are in the Upstate are 80
percent or more white. We also discussed how it kind of made sense
for the mostly white schools to be in the Upstate, because that's
where fewer blacks live -- but the high number of mostly black schools
in the rest of the state pointed to their problem with having enough
cultural diversity for students.
In
other words, from the Midlands through the Pee Dee to the Lowcountry,
scores of predominantly black schools have disadvantaged populations
that continue to get a different school experience than students
in more integrated, generally suburban schools.
Research
shows that all students who attend racially integrated schools have
better critical thinking skills, according to the Civil Rights Project
at UCLA. And because of diverse learning opportunities in integrated
schools, all students become better communicators and problem-solvers.
"Integrated
school environments do not harm the test scores of white students,"
according to a 2008 CRP report on voluntary school integration.
"In fact, white students who grow up in racially segregated
neighborhoods are likely to benefit from integrated school environments
as they gain the opportunity to understand and value multiple perspectives
and emerge from school better prepared for living and working in
our increasingly diverse American society.
Furthermore,
integration really makes an impact on the lives of black children,
most of whom start up a rung on the ladder below white children.
 "The
experience of an integrated education made all of the difference
in the lives of black children -- and in the lives of their children
as well," education policy guru David L. Kirp wrote in a May
20 opinion column in The New York Times. Interestingly, the
longer that black students were in integrated settings, the better
they did, he said. He noted a 2011 study that showed black students
in desegregated schools earned 25 percent more than those who didn't
attend them and they're a lot healthier too.
For
Kirp, the lesson is as plain as the nose on your face: integration
works. "If we're serious about improving educational opportunities,
we need to revisit the abandoned policy of school integration."
Unfortunately,
that's not the trend. Today in education, there's a wave of new
charter schools and other public choices in South Carolina that
tend to clump similar people together. Of the 44 charter schools
in the state in the 2010 school year, 10 were predominantly black
and six were predominately white. Almost two in five, compared to
one in four of all public schools, are predominantly one race of
another.
 Jon
Butzon, president of the Charleston Education Network, laments how
regular public schools, already drained of a lot of talent because
of the 39,000 mostly white students in 262 private schools, are
losing with the growth of more choices in public education. [As
an aside, the zeal for more choices makes perfect sense because
parents, tired of ill-performing public schools, are setting up
charter schools to try to offer more to their kids.]
Charter
schools are particularly tough on disadvantaged students when they're
based on merit because poor children tend to be less ready when
they get to school in the first place.
"Anytime
you set up a system of education that is based on merit, you will
exclude the vast majority of minority students because it is those
students we have historically and repeatedly under-educated and
continue to under-educate," Butzon said. "It's harder
for charter schools to do that -- harder, but not impossible. Don't
you have to be 'gifted' to get into a gifted charter school?"
Bottom
line: Encouraging strategies that continue to siphon off money and
talent from regular public schools is just going to make them worse.
How about looking for ways to improve all schools so we don't have
to come up with piecemeal solutions that may fail our children?
NEXT
WEEK: Big ideas for better schools
Andy
Brack is publisher of Statehouse Report. He can be reached at:
brack@statehousereport.com.
Big
ideas to create better public schools
By
Andy Brack
Statehouse Report
Part 4 of 4
JULY
6, 2012 -- There is no magic silver bullet to improve South Carolina's
public schools. If there were one, it would have been fired from
the policy gun years ago for a system that has struggled for generations.
So
that's left people to try lots of different approaches from magnet
schools to publicly-funded charter schools that are run outside
of the traditional power structure with a lot of parental input.
There are continuing attempts to hijack public funds via vouchers
to pay for private school education. And school leaders are trying
Montessori-style schools, gifted programs, early childhood intervention
programs, paying more to teachers; teacher accountability; tough
standards; and on and on and on.
In
South Carolina, it's not clear anything is really working to make
all schools better. As a result, we've got a state where 28 percent
of kids attend culturally homogeneous schools in which 80 percent
of students or more are of one race. In the Upstate, the schools
are mostly white. In the Lowcountry, Pee Dee and Midlands, those
schools tend to be mostly black. The schools in middle? They're
all over the map from Academic Magnet High School in Charleston
County, one of the top schools in the country, to rural schools
with big achievement gaps that struggle for good teachers.
As
a result, almost 60,000 students -- about a tenth of South Carolina's
students -- attend private schools or are home-schooled. Just about
everyone else is losing patience, but is caught because they can't
afford private schools, many of which, in truth, may not provide
that much better education than the public schools by which people
are frustrated.
Particularly
for the 28 percent of schools where diversity is low, attempts by
policymakers to increase diversity will pay off in creating better
school experiences for kids, says David L. Kirp, a public policy
professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
"Despite
its flaws, integration is as successful an educational strategy
as we've hit on," he wrote in May in The New York Times.
But
simply adding diversity back into the mix to fix our schools isn't
enough. More has to be done, as Kirp outlined in a recent book,
"Kids First: Five Big Ideas for Transforming Children's Lives."
The big ideas:
- Have
parents be better first teachers. A child's first teachers
are his parents, but Kirp observes many come to the table ill-prepared
to help developing young minds. How can you fix that? Through
programs that provide parents with skills to be better parents
and teachers. An example he cites is Triple P, a program with
stunning results in South Carolina where "among whites and
blacks, rich and poor alike, parents are doing a better job of
raising their children."
 Earlier
childhood education. South Carolina doesn't have voluntary
universal 4-year-old public education. Many children receive help
through Head Start, private kindergarten or a court-imposed 4K
program in some poor counties, but lots of children still don't
have access to earlier education -- which has been proven to pay
off. According to a five-state study, 31 percent of kids in pre-K
programs did better on vocabulary and 41 percent on math than
peers not in the programs.
- Make
schools the center of communities. Kirp suggests schools should
be used for more than daytime learning. They also should be places
with vibrant after-school programs as well as offerings for adults
(health clinics, classes, clubs and more).
- Embrace
mentoring from the community. Schools should partner more
with businesses to expand learning opportunities. Individual mentors
also should be linked to at-risk youths who can benefit from having
a caring adult in their lives.
- Nest
egg.
Perhaps the book's most controversial idea, Kirp suggests each
child at birth should get a small trust fund for higher education.
Such a fund is in place in Maine where a rich guy endowed a $500
fund for every newborn in the state. In 20 years, the fund will
grow to about $2,000, but if parents add just $50 a month to it
during that span -- a strategy to get them to think more long-term
about their child's future -- the fund will grow to $25,000 in
20 years and become a big help in allowing all children to have
the financial wherewithal to attend college.
What
these big ideas have in common is they're trying to boost education
for every child, not just disadvantaged ones. If we can do that,
then there might be more buy-in for better educational programs
everywhere. Send along your big idea.
Andy
Brack is publisher of Statehouse Report. He can be reached at:
brack@statehousereport.com.
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