Private Schools & Wealthy African-Americans (Atlanta, Smyrna: middle school, college, live in)

[RoslynHolcomb]

We have a lot of threads on this board about the various elite private schools in this area and they're very informative. I am curious about something, however. This past weekend I was talking with relatives who work at some elite private schools outside this area. They said that all the private schools work diligently to recruit African Americans to improve their diversity. I laughed and said that's probably not true here in Atlanta. The percentage of wealthy blacks here is very high and presumably they would choose these schools for their children as well. One of my relatives who is very familiar with private schools here said that they struggle in that area as well. A bit of googling around pretty much indicates this is true.

I'm puzzled by this because if asked to name one city that would be chock-ful of wealthy/well-to-do black people I would have chosen Atlanta. I'm curious as to whether black folks with money send their children to these schools, and if not, why not? Are there other schools that black people are more likely to choose? Is it a location issue? All the schools that most of the people seem to talk about are in Buckhead and surrounding areas. I'd always assumed that wealthy black people live in more or less the same areas as wealthy white people. Of course, like most assumptions this is probably erroneous. (For instance, I don't see all that many black people in Dunwoody, though I do see a few.)

What do you guys think? Those of you who have your children in private schools, are there very many African Americans there? As I said, I'm just curious about this issue. Any feedback would be appreciated

[gt6974a]

No kids here, not too familiar, but if I had to guess I'd check out schools in Lithonia.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

We have a lot of threads on this board about the various elite private schools in this area and they're very informative. I am curious about something, however. This past weekend I was talking with relatives who work at some elite private schools outside this area. They said that all the private schools work diligently to recruit African Americans to improve their diversity. I laughed and said that's probably not true here in Atlanta. The percentage of wealthy blacks here is very high and presumably they would choose these schools for their children as well. One of my relatives who is very familiar with private schools here said that they struggle in that area as well. A bit of googling around pretty much indicates this is true.

I'm puzzled by this because if asked to name one city that would be chock-ful of wealthy/well-to-do black people I would have chosen Atlanta. I'm curious as to whether black folks with money send their children to these schools, and if not, why not? Are there other schools that black people are more likely to choose? Is it a location issue? All the schools that most of the people seem to talk about are in Buckhead and surrounding areas. I'd always assumed that wealthy black people live in more or less the same areas as wealthy white people. Of course, like most assumptions this is probably erroneous. (For instance, I don't see all that many black people in Dunwoody, though I do see a few.)

What do you guys think? Those of you who have your children in private schools, are there very many African Americans there? As I said, I'm just curious about this issue. Any feedback would be appreciated

For one thing, Black Wealth in Atlanta is concentrated in:

1. Southwest Atlanta
2. Cascade
3. Sandtown
4. South Fulton
5. North Fayette
6. Collier Heights
7. South DeKalb
(8. Lake Spivey/Jonesboro)

These areas are not located very close to the elite Buckhead private schools. Woodward Academy (located in College Park), on the other hand, does have a fairly large black population...due to its proximity to many wealthy black areas. Woodward Academy is like the "Westminster" of the Southside! An interesting tidbit...I remember Whitfield Academy stating that by locating in Mableton, they would look to draw families from Vinings/Smyrna, Buckhead, East Cobb, and Southwest Atlanta.

Also, keep in mind, being wealthy does not necessarily equate to sending your kids to private schools.

And one more thing...I'm sure many private schools say they recruit, but how they recruit may be the problem.

[Jeff Jarrett]

I went to a private high school in Orlando and even though Blacks make up 26% of the population there, they made up only 3% of the students at my school.

[DeaconJ]

A recent AJC article titled "Face of Private Schools Changing"...Are private schools more diverse? They'd like to be | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2008/10/05/diversity_1005.html - broken link)

An interesting statistic....Atlanta has 42,000 students enrolled in private schools, and 15% of them are minorities.

[Jeff Jarrett]

An interesting statistic....Atlanta has 42,000 students enrolled in private schools, and 15% of them are minorities.

Considering Blacks make up 61% of Atlanta's population, I would say they are very underrepresented at only 15%.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by Jeff Jarrett

Considering Blacks make up 61% of Atlanta's population, I would say they are very underrepresented at only 15%.

I'm pretty sure the 42,000 students are for the entire Metro Atlanta area, not just for the city...and considering that minorities are about 40% of Metro Atlanta's population, it's not quite that bad. The location of the majority of private schools doesn't help.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I'm pretty sure the 42,000 students are for the entire Metro Atlanta area, not just for the city...and considering that minorities are about 40% of Metro Atlanta's population, it's not quite that bad. The location of the majority of private schools doesn't help.

Yes, Jeffie...you need to understand, when people say "Atlanta," 99.9% of the time they are referring to the whole Metro Area (or most of it at least).

When referring to just the city, people will say the "City of Atlanta," "within the City," "Atlanta City," etc.

Plus, the black population of the City of Atlanta is now several percentage points below 61%.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Jeff Jarrett

Considering Blacks make up 61% of Atlanta's population, I would say they are very underrepresented at only 15%.

But you have a point about the 15%...considering that includes all minorities.

[lastminutemom]

I am not sure exactly what we are asking, but most private schools in the core of Atlanta and close in suburbs do pretty actively recruit minorities. There is even a private school fair targeted at minority parents.

Woodward Academy is one of the most diverse private schools in the country.

While Aries is correct as to wear wealthy African-Americans are clustered, the largest number is probably in S. DeKalb. DeKalb is the second wealthiest majority African American county in the country supposedly (to Montgomery County, MD). Anyway, there are a handful of private schools in S. DeKalb as well as some public school vehicles that operate like private schools called theme schools.

The problem for these families is that both these options end in elementary school and though there is a new theme middle school, it doesn't have the country club feel that the theme elementary schools have.

Up until recently, a motivate S. DeKalb family could easily get their kid into a N. DeKalb high school. And they did. But with the advent of NCLB and the end of various busing programs, it is much harder. (Spaces first have to go to the students whose schools consistently don't make AYP.) I know one S DeKalb family whose senior will soon graduate a N. DeKalb high school and whose younger high school student is headed to boarding school.