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A CASE FOR SEGREGATION |
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Thursday, 23 August 2007 |
INLAND EMPIRE
By Chris Levister
Charter Schools Catering to Black Students Wildly Popular
As many of the nation's 3,500 charter schools struggle with
funding shortfalls, tougher regulations and growing opposition, charter schools
that cater to African-American and underserved children are flourishing amid
lengthy waiting lists with numbers in the thousands.
So when Redlands
educators Vicki and Edwin Brewer got fed up with their three children's failing
public school they turned to charter schools. But not just any charter schools.
The Brewers insist on schools that focus on building the children's competency
around who they are as Africans in America, as a bridge to success in
the mainstream. Charter schools that cater to African-American and underserved children are ‘proudly’ segregated and wildly popular boasting waiting list numbers in the thousands.
Both graduates of Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs) the
Brewers say they recognize the benefits of a rigorous curriculum, smaller class
size, and dedicated teachers who believe in Black students, and that every one
of them has gifts.
"African-American children have been largely marginalized
and lead to believe they are public enemy number one: poor, violent and
underachieving. We made a commitment to change," says Vicki.
That was 13 months ago. As the new school year rolls around
the Brewers are still waiting to enroll their sons in charter school. Not
because charter schools that openly recruit African-American children don't
exist but because they are mostly oversubscribed with lengthy waiting lists of
hopeful students.
The Brewers have pending applications at 9 schools - all of
them oversubscribed.
"It's crazy. Families are paying thousands of dollars just
to move up a couple of notches on the waiting list," says Edwin. In one case
the couple claims they were offered $5,000 by a wealthy South African
family. "They had five children. They
were determined to buy their way in."
Los Angeles-based Inner City Foundation, founder and chief
executive Michael Piscal is not surprised. The Foundation which operates L.A.'s View
Park charter schools,
says its waiting list numbers more than 5,000. In particular, charter schools
that have opened in working class, Black or Latino neighborhoods such as the Inland Empire and high desert cities have been flooded
with applications.
"The momentum we're building is tremendous," said Piscal.
The Foundation announced last week that it has received more than $4 million in
grants from the NewSchools Venture Fund, the Dell Foundation and the Walton
Family Foundation, and plans to open four new charter schools in mostly Black
and Latino South Los Angeles this fall.
"The funders recognize that we're moving from success to
success," said Piscal.
It has been more than 10 years since the charter school
movement forged into existence with much anticipation and hope matched by just
as much skepticism and opposition.
But the intended goal of a superior not necessarily equal
education that boosts the learning development of primarily Black and
underserved children is proving to be extremely popular.
"Fears that charter schools would undercut public schools
and promote segregation are unfounded," says Edwin, a Temecula math teacher.
"Parents see these schools as places of opportunity."
When it first began, the charter school movement struck a
chord in many communities particularly in urban districts. Though they were
exempt from many regulations, hundreds of schools were created to give parents
a choice over failing public schools.
Now more than a decade later, charter students are more
likely to be Black and less likely to be Hispanic or Asian. 70 percent of Black
charter school students attend intensely segregated schools compared with 34
percent of Black public schools students.
In almost every state, according to Dr. Gary Orfield co-director of the
Civil Rights Project at Harvard
University, the average
Black charter school student attends school with a higher percentage of Black
students.
While charter school advocates and critics trade barbs over
whether charter schools perform better than public schools, education experts
are increasingly struggling with the issue of racial segregation.
Public schools have struggled with the issue for the past 50
years. Today charter schools are largely more segregated than public schools,
says Orfield. He said data collected from charter schools in several key states
detail segregation is worse for African-American than Latino students.
"The problems reported may not be due either to the intent
or the desires and values of charter school leaders. They may reflect flaws in
state policies, in enforcement, in methods of approving schools for charters,
or the location where charter schools are set up."
Still advocates continually point to the benefits of a
non-test driven, language and math curriculum incorporating leadership training
and life skills.
"We believe strongly African-American children have the
potential to become great leaders in our community. We combine life management
skill components: attitude, self esteem, decision making and goal setting with
a solid education. We challenge them to be great thinkers, have great
discussions and back up their claims by having authoritarian figures back up
their points," says charter school principal Brian Taylor.
The Brewers say the stepped up segregation argument is
nothing new. "HBCUs struggle with the same argument and criticism. It's a
scapegoat for a system that has failed our children for decades, for that
reason alone we are prepared to wait as long as it takes."
Looking at the backlog and exploding demand for charter
schools that openly recruit African-American children, the Brewers will have
plenty of company.
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