社区黑料

A version of this essay originally appeared on the聽.

In New York City, improving outcomes for more than 1 million schoolchildren does not include addressing聽,听聽or the聽聽for all who qualify, expanding聽聽for the neediest populations, getting rid of聽听辞谤听.

In New York City, improving outcomes for more than 1 million schoolchildren comes down to a single word: diversity.

Diversity will fix everything that ails us.

Sitting minority, low-income, underachieving children next to white, middle-class, high-achieving peers will magically inspire test scores and literacy rates to rise. Too bad NYC聽聽to make every school a majority-passing school. Even with a forced population transfer.

础蝉听聽reported Nov. 14:

鈥淓very New York City school district that doesn鈥檛 already have an integration plan in the works will be tasked with creating one, under a bill the City Council approved Thursday. … It鈥檚 unclear how each working group would fund their efforts, though the bill says the city can lend the groups administrative support. 鈥� Each group can also choose to partner with a community-based organization, as long as it comes from a list pre-approved by the mayor.鈥�

In July, Chalkbeat outlined the聽, thanks to $200,000 grants from the city Education Department:

Brooklyn鈥檚 District 13 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 target any specific enrollment changes that might be pursued, but suggests local leaders want feedback from the community to build schools that residents want and that serve diverse students well.鈥�

We hope they鈥檒l do a better job listening than the Community Education Council members in Manhattan鈥檚 District 3聽, making the first public comments and then leaving the hearing.

Queens鈥檚 District 28 is 鈥渨eighing possible admissions changes to help integrate its middle schools, which are largely segregated by income in the more affluent northern half of the district and the poorer southern end.鈥�

So now we have 鈥渓istening鈥� and 鈥渨eighing.鈥�

Staten Island鈥檚 District 31 is planning to take 鈥渁 hard look at attendance zone lines.鈥�

鈥淟istening,鈥� 鈥渨eighing鈥� and 鈥渓ooking 鈥� hard!鈥�

We covered efforts in Brooklyn鈥檚聽, where 鈥渟ome longtime community members would rather see the district focus on boosting school quality for those students already attending local schools聽聽on explicit integration measures that face resistance from white parents or could ultimately displace children of color,鈥� Chalkbeat wrote. The latter is a key fear in聽, as well.

But I think my favorite plan comes from District 9 in the South Bronx:

鈥淲e often hear the term 鈥榙iversity鈥� but don鈥檛 honor all the nations, languages and cultures that exist within black, brown and Latinx communities,鈥� the district鈥檚 grant application states. 鈥淲e feel strongly that our school communities of color are not monoliths.鈥�

I could not agree more. And have聽. But if the above is true, then shouldn鈥檛 it also apply to the monolith known as 鈥淎sians,鈥� whom the mayor and schools chancellor routinely hold up as enemies of true diversity 鈥� dismissing their various 鈥渘ations, languages and cultures鈥� as a single, interchangeable block?

The Department of Education聽聽as 鈥渢hose that enroll between 50 percent and 90 percent black and Hispanic students.鈥� A school that鈥檚 more than 90 percent black and Hispanic would also not be racially representative by this same measure. That doesn鈥檛 seem to be concerning District 9 much. Do they not want their share of white, middle-class, high achievers for their children to sit next to? Don鈥檛 tell me they think they can聽!

So that鈥檚 what five New York City districts are currently doing with their grants 鈥� not counting District 1鈥檚 unzoned diversity initiative, which recently dealt with its own聽, District 3鈥檚聽听补苍诲听聽in high-achieving schools for low-achieving kids, and District 15 unzoning all its middle schools, which has already been pronounced an聽聽three months into its inaugural year.

Alina Adams is a New York Times best-selling romance and mystery writer, the author of Getting Into NYC Kindergarten and Getting Into NYC High School, a blogger at聽聽and mother of three. She believes you can’t have true school choice until all parents know all their school choices 鈥� and how to get them. Visit her website,听.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 社区黑料鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.