The school segregation has been considered for many years one of the main moles of the educational system in the city of New York, the largest in the entire country, with 1.1 million students and more than 1, 800 schools . Activists, parents and even the head of the Department of Education , Richard Carranza , have publicly denounced time and again the differential treatment, in terms of resources and programs that New York students receive, often depending on the zip code in which they live.
But the recent announcement by the City about the implementation of a series of changes to the admissions processes in hundreds of public middle and high schools, in order to close the gap, has given a light of hope among immigrant parents like Aracely San Miguel.
The Colombian mother, who has a child In seventh grade, he was delighted to receive the announcement from Mayor Bill de Blasio to suspend the assessment based only on academic merit to enter screened middle schools: decision that will stand for at least one year .
“ I think it is a good first step to end the different treatment that schools have with our children, because many times Latino children want to apply to more select schools and not only are there demands that are difficult to meet, but they also show that Latino children are not as intelligent as others, such as Asians, and that is not true, “he said. the mother of the family . “I believe that all children regardless of race are intelligent, but they develop their abilities depending on the study plans, dedication, quality of teachers and even the elements and resources that are in each school.”
The Mayor acknowledged that the COVID pandemic – 19 has had a tremendous impact on the school system during the 2020, which could have affected students’ school results, so it would not be fair to rely solely on grades, attendance reports, and tests to apply to high-performing schools. For this reason, the use of lotteries has been mentioned when schools report higher numbers of students requesting places than the available places.
For middle schools, academic filters will not be used in the admissions process, but may give priority to students who live within the school district where the establishment is located. Students will be able to apply to middle schools from 11 January .
The so-called Specialized High School Admission Test, the criteria used for admission to the most prestigious public schools such as Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech and Bronx Science, will remain in force.
In the case of secondary schools, the academic filters will remain, but the report cards for the current year will not be used, since due to the pandemic the public schools did not give grades last year or tests were applied state. For this, the reports from the previous year will be used: sixth grade instead of seventh.
For specialized arts schools, which require a special audition, there will be a virtual admission test.
Juan Solorio , who has his little daughter from 12 years in a Long Island City middle school, said he did not know very well about the changes announced by school authorities, but upon learning of the City’s plans, he did not show very optimistic with the immediate results that could mean.
“I think it is good that they look for more ways so that the most qualified schools really have children of all races and economic conditions, because the truth in this city if you study in a white neighborhood is not the same as studying in Corona , and that proves segregation and is also discrimination against our children, ”said the immigrant. “But I don’t think that those treatments that they give us to blacks and Hispanics, who are the poorest, are going to change overnight. I would like the law to order percentages of children in schools and to invest equally in all. That would work better. ”
It calculates that the 41% of students in New York schools are Hispanic, the 26% are black , the 16 % are Asian and 15% are white.
And about the changes on the horizon, the Minister of Education himself not only said that they are common sense, but he was optimistic that it will help curb segregation.
“These changes will help ensure that our classrooms reflect the great diversity that New York City is, and is also a true representation of the values we hold dear as a city: that equity, inclusion and excellence for all children are the cornerstone of what we do ”, stated Carranza .
“I believe that these changes will improve justice and equity. But they will also make the process simpler and fairer, particularly given what we’re dealing with this year, ”said De Blasio .
Councilor Ydanis Rodríguez welcomes the news to come, but warns that if background transformations are not made, things will not be honey on flakes.
“The City is taking a step forward by marching in the direction correct, but much remains to be done to create equal conditions so that all children in the city, including Latino children, have the same opportunities to enter schools that have more services and resources, and that most have been in middle-class neighborhoods, with barriers that prevent children from entering in poor economic conditions “, said the political leader of Upper Manhattan. ” But until we have the same conditions to all the children of the city from the moment they are born n the poorest postal areas have the same conditions, we will continue to have the most segregated school system in the country, which is not acceptable. ”
Another of the changes announced by the City is the removal of geographic priorities for school admissions since 2021.
It should be remembered that despite the changes there will be elite schools that can continue to evaluate students academically for admission, but the Administration De Blasio called on them to modify that pattern .
Despite the turn in this matter, and the defense of the idea of changes as a good route towards the end of segregation There are opposing voices.
“Equity and excellence can and should be pursued simultaneously; there shouldn’t be an exchange between the two, ”said state Senator John Liu, chairman of the state Senate Education committee.
Leonie Haimson , director of the organization Class Size Matters , which ensures the rights of disadvantaged students to have less crowded classrooms in favor of better educational quality and fight against segregation, applauded the changes in middle schools, but insisted that they must be done in parallel with the reduction of class sizes.
“The proposed changes at the middle school level make perfect sense, especially since there are no grades or state test scores, and this will help integrate our schools, both economically and racially,” said the activist. “However, to help teachers meet the needs of students from different backgrounds and academic levels, the DOE should really reduce class sizes , which is the best equalizer ever invented. ”
Despite this, Haimson criticized that in secondary schools there are not really changes substantial.
“ Changes in admission to high school will not do much , as high schools will be allowed keep your assessment methods, ”said the student advocate. “I am concerned that removing all geographic priorities will result in even more students spending hours traveling to and from school, which research shows negatively affects attendance and learning.”
NY schools in numbers
- 1.1 million students are in the schools of the Big Apple
- 1, 800 educational centers are in all five counties
- 41% of students are Hispanic
- 26% are black
- 16% are Asian
- 15% are white