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Many metro-Atlanta K-12 schools have very diverse student bodies, but really how integrated are the student bodies? Socially, do kids from different cultures, economic situations, etc. interact at school? Outside of school? Is within school “tracking” resulting in segregation within the school (I think that this was once the case in some schools)? I am pretty ignorant on the subject, and I am interested in what parents and teachers have observed with their children, and children of their friends. Thanks.
Are there a majority minority ( mostly black or mostly Asian for example) private schools? That is a good question also.
Of course there are. Atlanta is majority minority after all. There are Asian private schools in the northern suburbs. An Indian school is located on South Main in Alpharetta.
I have taught in two school systems (Fulton and Cobb) and I can tell you for sure that there is no "tracking" that segregates students in any way. Race is not considered for class placements at all...we looked at gender, behavior, and academic level to try and distribute the students as evenly as possible. I'm sure every school may do it a little differently, but as far as I know it's generally done this way with some variations. I would hate to think that anyone would use race in that manner in 2013.
I taught in schools that had a wide variety of students from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Probably the most "segregated" (that term doesn't really apply here) school that I experienced was in South Cobb...it was about 50-60% Hispanic.
But, even in elementary schools there are advanced, ESOL, and gifted classes, and as you go on to high shcool there are advanced placement, advanced classes, and college prep classes. Isn't that tracking?
What happens when you have elementary schools like Morningside in Atlanta (which is predominatly white with very high test scores) and Hope-Hill (which is minority with very low test scores) feed into the same middle and high school?
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeTarheel
I have taught in two school systems (Fulton and Cobb) and I can tell you for sure that there is no "tracking" that segregates students in any way. Race is not considered for class placements at all...we looked at gender, behavior, and academic level to try and distribute the students as evenly as possible. I'm sure every school may do it a little differently, but as far as I know it's generally done this way with some variations. I would hate to think that anyone would use race in that manner in 2013.
I taught in schools that had a wide variety of students from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Probably the most "segregated" (that term doesn't really apply here) school that I experienced was in South Cobb...it was about 50-60% Hispanic.
But, even in elementary schools there are advanced, ESOL, and gifted classes, and as you go on to high shcool there are advanced placement, advanced classes, and college prep classes. Isn't that tracking?
What happens when you have elementary schools like Morningside in Atlanta (which is predominatly white with very high test scores) and Hope-Hill (which is minority with very low test scores) feed into the same middle and high school?
While a larger percentage of white students do end up in the "gifted" track at Inman and Grady compared to the overall composition of the student body, the disparity is less than would be predicted by the elementary schools test scores. In part this is because some of the gifted white students are lost to private schools and in part the parents of gifted minority students move into the Grady (or North Atlanta) cluster. Although I don't know the numbers, the "advanced" classes at these schools are racially diverse.
But, even in elementary schools there are advanced, ESOL, and gifted classes, and as you go on to high shcool there are advanced placement, advanced classes, and college prep classes. Isn't that tracking?
What happens when you have elementary schools like Morningside in Atlanta (which is predominatly white with very high test scores) and Hope-Hill (which is minority with very low test scores) feed into the same middle and high school?
Students are placed in those programs based on academic achievement and intelligence testing, not by race. That was your original question wasn't it?
I'm not sure what precisely happens when students from those two environments come together in middle school, but I know that nothing depends on race. There may be situations where there is more of one race than another, but if so it happens due to factors other than race.
No, that really was not really what I was intending to ask. Maybe "integrated" was the wrong word. I am working under the assumption that race/culture is not a formal deciding factor in keeping students separate.
Working under that assumption, does a child from a "diverse" school have a "diverse" group of friends?
Working under that assumption, does a "diverse" school's advanced, mainstream, or remedial classes tend to be diverse?
Thanks for your input.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeTarheel
Students are placed in those programs based on academic achievement and intelligence testing, not by race. That was your original question wasn't it?
I'm not sure what precisely happens when students from those two environments come together in middle school, but I know that nothing depends on race. There may be situations where there is more of one race than another, but if so it happens due to factors other than race.
Last edited by jeoff; 04-30-2013 at 01:40 PM..
Reason: added "mainstream"
No, that really was not really what I was intending to ask. Maybe "integrated" was the wrong word. I am working under the assumption that race/culture is not a formal deciding factor in keeping students separate.
Working under that assumption, does a child from a "diverse" school have a "diverse" group of friends?
Working under that assumption, does a "diverse" school's advanced or remedial classes tend to be diverse?
Thanks for your input.
Individual diversity is up to that individual...in my experience (elementary) kids generally don't even seem to notice race at all. Later on it might be more of an issue sometimes, but not usually in earlier grades.
The students in exceptional programs may or may not be diverse, depending on the candidates. I'm pretty sure that no one controls it either way; when students are found in need of exceptional classes they are tested and placed according to test results. The diversity of those programs changes all during the school year, so I can't really say how often a certain race is in a certain program. It depends on the students.
I can speak to my daughter's experience at a diverse Fulton County high school... The kids are not "tracked" in the old sense of that term. They can take any mix of AP, honors, grade-level or elective classes. This means that a student who excels in math, for instance, could be in AP calculus, yet take grade-level econ or literature. Because students are placed in classes that meet their academic needs, they interact with more of a variety of students than they would otherwise.
My daughter has "school friends" of all races and socioeconomic status, however her "outside of school" friends tend to be less diverse socioeconomically (yet still racially diverse).
Interestingly, her good friends who are black, Indian or Hispanic (we are white), are kids who she became friends with in elementary or middle school and those friendships were well established by the high school years. This experience (anecdotal, to be sure) would give me concern about the example that a previous poster mentioned about primarily while Morningside Elementary and primarily minority Hope-Hill successfully mixing it up in high school after not having been together as younger kids.
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