Racial And Ethnic Diversity In Public Schools

America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s

Today, we know integration has a positive effect on almost every aspect of schooling that matters. We also know integration matters for all students. Both minorities and whites are disadvantaged by attending racially isolated schools, although in somewhat different ways. Predominantly minority schools as a whole had inadequate and unfair educational opportunities. First, these schools tend to serve predominantly poor students. Due to poor situations at home and by the student's friends and sometimes relatives these schools routinely had lower rates of achievement than students in mostly average income schools. This holds true regardless of a student's race or socioeconomic status. More importantly, predominantly poor and minority schools find it extremely difficult to attract and retain high-quality

“When we can predict how well students will do in school by looking at their zip code, we know we have a serious systemic problem” (Gloria Ladson-Billings 20). When we are able to forecast how a child will perform by where the child resides, then how can we say that every child is receiving quality education. The unsuccessful educational system infused into the United States is affecting the majority of minorities. In the United States students due to their race and social class, suffer from underfunded public schools, inexperienced teachers, and housing segregation, which in turn inhibit their opportunity to succeed through education. These difficulties plaque students from the very beginning of their public school experience and follow them throughout their academic life. There are a few solutions to these issues but they have to be implemented and enforced with a slow integration.

Classrooms are becoming more diverse than they were several decades ago because so many people are migrating from their country of origin to seek for better living opportunities, in search of a safe place and because the United States of America is a super power. Therefore political, economic, and social-cultural reasons are the causes of migration which results in families remaining in the country causing classrooms today to be more diverse than they were decades ago thereby rapidly changing the demography of the United States and its classroom (Vacca et al, 2014, p. 62). To confirm this point for instance, at my school, there are a total of 354 students and the percentage of Hispanics: 41.5%, Blacks: 40.1%, Whites: 13.6%, Multicultural: 3.7%, other: 1.2%, Asians: 0.9%. Students from these different cultural backgrounds have different values, attitudes and experiences.

The American education system is failing the generations of the future. Society neglects the children born into impoverished areas, while mainly white upper class children participate in superior educational activities. Low-income neighborhoods often produce schools with low scoring students. Therefore the government transitions these schools into impersonal factories. The phrase diversity masquerades the reality of re-segregation of schools. Many schools across the country are utilizing the phrase diversity, yet the statistics reveal that over ninety percent of the students are black or Hispanic. Creating successful environments is extremely difficult and subsequently results in serious consequences for the American education system.

It is my privilege to share with you Trumann Public Schools strategic diversity plan for 2016-2021. It is the mission of Truman Public Schools to educate all students and to that end we have developed a plan to help reach students that we have not reached as well in the past. It is our intent to develop a school that helps to facilitate a more pluralistic society as well as the academic growth of our students and the growth of the community at large. This plan will be used to aid us in implementing researched based methods to improve student achievement throughout the district. It is also our intent to utilize this plan to foster respect for diversity in religion, ethnic background, culture, gender and all other forms of diversity.

America now is a very culturally diverse nation; most of the minority and immigrant population lives in cities, which indicates that the public school classrooms in urban areas are full of versatile cultural identities. According to the 2000 Census record, minority and immigrant populations has grown in increasing numbers, and most of those people live in urban areas and attend public high schools; also, the level of residential segregation still remains as high as in 1990, which proposes new problems for immigrants and minorities. Monocultural schools are very rare and the global society is very multicultural; it is very logical to prepare students in schools to enter this diverse society (Le Roux 48). Teachers are largely responsible

This is detrimental because the young generation gets lower exposure to a racially diverse and tolerant community. In addition, schools composed of mostly white population get better resources and more money. 90 percent or more pre dominantly white public’s schools receive an average of $733 dollars more per pupil [2]. Course offerings seem are unequal to with 25 percent of majority black not offering Algebra II and 33 percent not offering Chemistry. Even schools with majority black that have gifted programs only enroll a disproportionately low black students into their programs [3].

Without a doubt, in current times the public school’s roster reflects the demographic makeup of its neighborhoods; racial and culturally, and these are the results of economics, more than a racial circumstance. That said, in continuing to change there will be more court cases on isolated discrimination and beyond the school system to allow changes needed. Currently, being able to have schools with diversity opens the minds of our youth to explore the world’s culture, it provides early on people to steer

To any prospective parent, a school needs to present all the facts about itself, so as the parent may make the choice that is best for their child. Thirty years ago, when I was in school. There was no concern about scores, diversity, etc. You just went to your local elementary, middle and high school. Today parents are much more informed and curious about where their child is going to go. To some parents, it is quite important to have their children attend a culturally diverse school. “There is a richness that comes from students working side by side with others who are not of the same cookie-cutter mold,” notes Jean Snell. (Great

As a member of several clubs and organizations, I have always valued the wide range of people you can find within the walls of my high school. If you walk into my Physics lab, you will find me collaborating with a dancer strongly involved in his cultural heritage and a volleyball player in the engineering academy. If you come to my Calculus class, you will see me calculating derivatives with a football player, a snowboarder, a National Honor Society officer, and a painter. The word “diversity” is often used to describe a cross-cultural population, but it is so much more than that. At Bartlett High School, students originate from hundreds of different cultures, with an abundance interests, and participate together in an assortment of activities.

Race relations in America’s public schools have come a long way. The U.S Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education deemed segregation in public schools unconstitutional, and started the process of integrating public schools . Yet, Kathleen McGrory, an education reporter for The Miami Herald, writes that creating and maintaining diversity in public schools is still difficult, even 56 years after the monumental court case. McGrory’s article states though the nation is now more racially and ethnically diverse than at any point in its history, American public schools’ demographics do not exhibit this diversity. In fact, the pierce includes a quotation from a University of Miami professor who studies education and sociology that

In 1954 the court decided that racial segregation in the public school systems was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause; however, it was a crucial breakthrough toward equal rights (Patterson, 2013).

Children who are in inner-city school districts get stuck in inferior schools with less than desirable educational opportunities without things like sports and after school activities. Urban Institute stated that, “As of 2011 48 percent of all public school students were poor* and this year, students of color will account for the majority of public school students for the first time in US history”(Urban.org). These children are growing up in poor neighborhoods and then most likely going to poor public schools which isn’t helping them escape the cycle. Neighborhoods that are integrated with children of all colors going to their local school could mean more tax dollars which would result in a better chance of equal opportunities. Schools need to be integrated but more importantly neighborhoods being integrated could be huge for turning this segregation issue

Since 1805 public schools have been the backbone of many Americans and their strive for an education. On top of this, public schools, according to the Huffington Post, equate to 91% or 50.7 million of those attending pre-Kindergarten through the 12th grade. But, with other school types such as year-round attending over 2 million students, the question begs, “Which school type provides their students with the best education”?