Controversial school rezoning for Midtown advances despite protests

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by bu2

I think they tend to send their kids to private schools. Mayor Bottoms did.

I can't speak for KLB, but I can say that the associate superintendents, the school board members, and the majority of people who work in the central office send their kids to APS schools or the traditional public school in their area, like Westlake, for example.

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by cparker73

The Cascade OTP/Niskey Lake area has a high concentration of wealthy Black households, and the public schools those neighborhoods are zoned for are a no-go. Unlike wealthy white households, wealthy Black neighborhoods across the country tend to be close to low-income areas, so you're not going to get a school that is 90% Black on the same level as a Jackson Elementary in Buckhead where the majority of the kids come from high-income households. There's really no such thing as a low-income white neighborhood in Atlanta anymore. They've been gentrified out to Cobb and Douglas counties.

At this time of the year when neighborhoods have signs congratulating all the high school seniors, you'll more likely see signs for Woodward, Paideia, Lovett, Westminster, Galloway, Atlanta Girls School and Whitefield. For Black families, Woodward is the default choice because of its proximity with a 15-minute commute compared to 45 minutes for the Buckhead privates. Mayor Bottoms sends her four kids to Woodward, and I wouldn't blame her.

Is that the Mays Cluster? Remember when the acronym people made up for Mays was "My Aren't You Siddity"?
That is the type of bourgeoisie "Jack & Jill" images that Mays evoked in the not-too-distant past. But of course, that was before there were charter/private schools to flee to -- so families took far greater pride in their community schools.

I would almost guarantee that if every family that lived in the Mays Cluster attended and participated in the Mays Cluster schools, then it would turn around almost overnight.

I think this is doubly true for the Washington Cluster.

Douglass? Not so sure...

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by Atlanta-Native

I don't fault her one bit. However, when discussing the idea of schools getting better because of the parents uniting, it's probably hard for some parents to rationalize, when the (then) mayor won't even send her kids to APS and opts for private school.

I don't think KLB has that much influence over where Black Atlantans choose to send their kids to school. Here's a question: I wonder where the combined wealth/influence of residents in the Mays Cluster would rank against the collective wealth/influence of residents in the Jackson Cluster.

I think residents in the Eastside Beltline neighborhoods have a lot more pull than residents of SW Atlanta bordering 285 (regardless of how "rich" they may be).

Unfortunately, as is the case with gentrification in general, people often don't see the value in something they have until somebody else wants it...

[Atlanta-Native]

Originally Posted by equinox63

I can't speak for KLB, but I can say that the associate superintendents, the school board members, and the majority of people who work in the central office send their kids to APS schools or the traditional public school in their area, like Westlake, for example.

Do those folks send their kids to the school they are zoned for, or is that mandatory? I know teachers can send their kids to any school within the county that they work in.

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by Atlanta-Native

Do those folks send their kids to the school they are zoned for, or is that mandatory? I know teachers can send their kids to any school within the county that they live in.

No, it's not mandatory. They often send their kids to the community schools in which they live. And many live in APS/South Fulton, etc.

But again, contrary to popular belief, every school that doesn't have a 8 or 9 on greatschools.org is not failing their students/children.

Regarding teachers, there has to be space at the school you are trying to transfer into. APS employment can get you some priority, but not if the school is at or over capacity. Teachers can get their students into the schools in which they teach. But other than that, there are no guarantees.

[Atlanta-Native]

Originally Posted by equinox63

No, it's not mandatory. They often send their kids to the community schools in which they live. And many live in APS/South Fulton, etc.

But again, contrary to popular belief, every school that doesn't have a 8 or 9 on greatschools.org is not failing their students/children.

I concur.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by equinox63

Well, although many on here would prefer to separate these things, race and class in Atlanta is almost inextricably related. We have also spoken quite a bit about white flight of the 50's to 70's, followed by black flight of the 80's & 90's -- which goes into the gentrification of the late 90's to today.

With that said, to answer your question, there are only about 5 "Black HS clusters" in APS.

B. T. Washington HS (1924)
G. W. Carver HS (1946)
D. M. Therrell HS (1960)
Frederick Douglass HS (1968)
B. E. Mays (1981)

Each of these schools have a long, strong, and rich legacy and has consistently produced many of the best and brightest in Atlanta to this vey day. But if you look at a map, you would notice that each newer school is increasing spread out from the city center and was (in their heyday) the bastion of Atlanta's Black Middle Class of that time. But as the wave of black flight spread (leaving mostly poorer residents behind) it eventually spilled outside of the city into Dekalb, Fulton, Clayton, Douglas, Cobb, etc.

I say all this to make the point that there is an element of the "glory days" at each of the "all-black" APS high schools. But there is also the poorer "left-behind" population as well. Each of the schools listed are all woefully under enrolled because many parents would prefer to send their kids to nearby charter or private schools.

So there is definitely a classist black element at play here. Now the dynamic that I have been speaking of mostly pertains to gentrifying APS clusters, so that really only leaves Midtown, Jackson, and ultimately Washington. The future of each of schools is determined by how each group handles a demographically changing community. These are the only clusters that have a notable white presence (in addition to NAHS). So in those areas, it is the general classism, with the additional factor of race thrown in.

Unfortunately though, many people still view "whiter as better" and "blacker as worse" (at least to certain degrees). So, believe it or not, 10 white families attending BTW HS would likely spur more enrollment from all parties than a KLB's endorsement. Right or wrong, the mentality is "if they're sending their kids there, it can't be that bad." That is what happened at Jackson HS (and Midtown HS a few decades before that). Then the active parents of all ethnicities that live in the cluster started to return -- partially because of the breaking of the "poor black" stigma that keeps white and black families at bay.

I don't think these issues are as complex in the Mays, Douglass, or Therrell Clusters because gentrification isn't happening that far out -- at least not to the extent as it is inside and around the Beltline.

What is the current white population and white enrollment at Washington High and in the Washington High Cluster?

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by aries4118

What is the current white population and white enrollment at Washington High and in the Washington High Cluster?

Unofficially, I would say the combined Washington Cluster neighborhoods may be around 30% white (mainly from West End/Westview, etc). But the school is probably less than 1% white. I don’t have hard numbers, but there are probably less than 5 white students in the entire school…

But even if all the black parents who live in the Washington Cluster who send their kids to KIPP or elsewhere collectively enrolled into BTW HS or it’s feeder schools, I think the current school culture and performance would dramatically improve almost instantly.

https://apsinsights.org/school-profi...son#Population

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by equinox63

Unofficially, I would say the combined Washington Cluster neighborhoods may be around 30% white (mainly from West End/Westview, etc). But the school is probably less than 1% white. I don’t have hard numbers, but there are probably less than 5 white students in the entire school…

But even if all the black parents who live in the Washington Cluster who send their kids to KIPP or elsewhere collectively enrolled into BTW HS or it’s feeder schools, I think the current school culture and performance would dramatically improve almost instantly.

https://apsinsights.org/school-profi...son#Population

Thank you.