Recently I’ve been called everything but a child of God; some names can’t be repeated in a family newspaper. These assaults have come as I have written about changes in D.C. Public Schools while exposing unpleasant realities. Using the work of the Capitol Hill Public School Parents Organization as an illustration, I have asserted that determined parents can revive neighborhood schools and wondered why there hadn’t been Ward 6-like activism in predominantly black Wards 5, 7 and 8. I have criticized black middle- class families for abandoning institutions in their communities, choosing instead to send their children to places like mostly white Ward 3.
Why am I focusing on this issue now, some have asked.
Actually, for the past two years I’ve written about demographic trends in DCPS and what they portend. In August 2010 I wrote an article in the Washington City Paper about then-Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s campaign to recruit more white families. I noted then that from 2008 through 2010, her campaign had resulted in an increase of white students from 6 percent to 9 percent.
Last week, others apparently caught up with that reality. Some residents in Ward 8 also became concerned about what those changes could mean for their children using the out-of-boundary system. Chancellor Kaya Henderson, acknowledging the increase in white families, reportedly quipped, “That’s just life.”
Her comment, reported by the Washington Post, was comparable to one made years ago by Marion Barry after he was elected mayor — for the fourth time — although he had been convicted and imprisoned on drug charges. He told whites dissatisfied with his return to “get over it.”
Now blacks have to get a grip.
The overall increase in the District’s white population, captured in the 2010 census, means they are likely to become more — not less — involved in the city and its institutions. That’s a good thing.
The demographic shifts in DCPS could also bring positive change for black communities.
Currently many schools in Wards 3 and 6 are at capacity, overflowing with children from outside those communities. DCPS officials will be forced to accommodate the increasing demand from white families. There isn’t money to build new schools and every popular institution can’t be made a citywide magnet. That leaves downsizing out-of-boundary seats as the likely option, sending some black middle-class students back to their neighborhoods.
That could mean real revitalization of those communities. Schools have been economic engines, prompting more than a few families to purchase homes in proximity to high-performing institutions. Retailers, restaurants and other businesses often follow.
Seeing the proverbial handwriting on the wall with the increase of white families, blacks, particularly the middle class in Wards 5, 7 and 8, shouldn’t become fearful, inciting conflicts with incendiary language. They should get busy, taking cues from Ward 6 parents: Don’t wait on the government; get organized; and invest in neighborhood schools.
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
