Madison's diversity? (Milwaukee, Franklin, Shorewood: transplants, apartment complexes, established neighborhood)

[NicoleWhitening]

After I complete my master's in special education, I plan on moving to Madison, Wisconsin in about 3-4 years. Before I consider moving there, I just wanted some input on the minorities in the school district and city overall. Looking at how the statistics increased for other racial groups besides caucasion, is it possible that Madison would be comfortably diverse in 2016? How is the diversity at it's present time?

[Megan1967]

Diversity can be defined in many ways, I suspect you are referring to racial diversity, however. Madison schools are pretty diverse, more so than the city as a whole. In larger cities there is more economic diversity among people of color, here in Madison, the majority tend to be poor. The schools that serve the university population tend to be the most diverse *both* ethnically and socio-economically. That would be Shorewood elementary and the Randall/Franklin elementary pair I believe. Not sure if there are other schools that serve that population.

[7G9C4J2]

"Comfortably diverse" - that's a unique way of putting it. And in truth, not a very easy thing to respond to, because none of us here can possibly intuit what is "comfortable" for you.

Leaving aside the whole issue of comfort, I will agree with Megan that the schools tend to be more racially and economically diverse than the community as a whole. The city of Madison is still an awfully white community, notwithstanding the presence of African Americans, Latinos, Hmong, and many other ethnicities. And many non-white transplants of my acquaintance have described encountering a subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) bias in Madison.

It is also worth mentioning that while the schools in Madison are generally more diverse than the population as a whole, unfortunately there is still a huge disparity in academic achievement between white students and students of color. It has been said that the new superintendent plans to work to address that, which is wonderful, but realistically speaking, it's not going to be an overnight transformation.

Not sure if that answers your questions, but that's an honest opinion. Good luck in grad school, and ask more questions if they occur to you.

[Chelito23]

Madison has a noticeable and growing minority community. But it is a minority community and will most likely not be a majority or plurality anytime soon.

Wherever you go, away from the overwhlemingly white and non-diverse university and govermnet dominated areas downtown (the least diverse area of the city, also the "main" part for what Madison in known), you will see many Blacks and Hispanics in stores, on the bus, walking and driving around, in apartment complexes, etc. But there isn't a long tradition of a minority presence in Madison, so there isn't a feeling of permanancy, history or established neighborhoods or business districts that cater to them. They are spread out, so that lack of concentration makes Madison feel even more white bread in a way.

But overall, you will see minorities out and about, Madison isn't lily white like it was several decades ago and the trend to diversify slowly will continue at a similar pace. If you want a plurality or minority majority city, Madison won't fit the bill any time soon.

[NicoleWhitening]

Thanks guys! I could use that little info.

[NicoleWhitening]

Are there any jewish schools in Madison? How are they? Will attending a public school be suitable for a jewish child?

[7G9C4J2]

These links might give you some info, or at least some leads to pursue:

Jewish Federation of Madison

Madison Jewish Community Day School

UW Hillel - Madison Jewish Community

Madison isn't a huge city (only about 240K at last count), so subgroups of the population are not as large and distinct as would be the case in a place like Milwaukee. There is certainly an active and vibrant Jewish population here, but as far as I am aware, there has not been a move to establish Jewish schools beyond the Madison Jewish Community Day School, linked above.

I included the other links to offer a connection to the local Jewish community, because I lack the direct knowledge to discuss how a Jewish child's experience in Madison public schools would be. I am quite sure you can contact folks through both Hillel and the Jewish Federation of Madison who could offer you a detailed perspective from personal experience.

[ta24]

Madison is
White 76%
Hispanic 7%
Black 7%
Asian 7%

[ckhthankgod]

Moderator cut: orphaned

Actually, Madison has had churches that have worshipped out of the African American tradition for close to a century. Membershippage (Look at the question at the bottom of the middle section)