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Prince Georges County, Maryland |
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Chronologically, Newest First: Prince Georges
County School Officials Continue to Use Defunct Forced-Busing Policies to Deny White
Children Access to Desirable Magnet School
According to the Washington Post: "In March, the 34 black students in her [Krosel's] son's elementary school magnet program received letters from the school system inviting them to enroll in the highly coveted Beltsville school [the M.L. King, Jr. school] this fall. "But Edward Krosel, who is white, and 16 other students were informed that the only magnet program open to them was at Nicholas Orem Middle School, a Hyattsville school that is on the watch list for possible state takeover because of poor academic achievement." School officials told the Washington Post that the 34 black students were given the additional option of Martin Luther King Jr. because they were needed to diversify the school. [emphasis added]. Ms. Krosel and other concerned parents filed a protest with Ms. Susan B. Miller of the Magnet Schools Program Office. The parents believe that their children have been denied equal treatment under the law solely based on their race [non-black]. Ms. Krosel reports that the parents were told that only the black children would be allowed the additional option of attending the prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. middle school. She and the other parents were further offended that all other races were clumped together as "Non African American." Krosel said "Evidently, P. G. County knows only black and white. I should mention that 77% of the school children in this district are African American. Asians, Caucasians, and Hispanics make up the remainder of the children." * The parents also filed a written appeal to Dr. Scottie Griffin, Director, Curriculum and Instruction, Prince George's County School Board, and have heard nothing at this writing.* Krosel and the other parents of "non-black" children have received a response from Dr. Nancy Grasmick, Superintendent, State of Maryland Department of Education. Dr. Grasmick indicated she would speak with Susan B. Miller at the Magnet Schools Program Office about the race-based school assignments.* The parents have also submitted a "Request for Production of Documents" relating to the race-based denial of school choice for their children. Subsequently, when the parents received a copy of the PG Magnet School Policy and Procedures manual they found substantial segments missing. The copy of the manual they received started at page 49.* The Washington Post reports: "Susan B. Miller, director of the magnet schools office, did not respond to requests for an interview. In a letter to Krosel dated May 31, Miller said that the guidelines for placing students in a magnet program are based on a desegregation order to make the specialized programs racially diverse." But that desegregation order was lifted by a federal judge last month (June 2002) and is no longer applicable! As of July 19, 2002 School officials have not commented upon this fact and its relation to their apparently outdated "diversity" policies. The Washington Post quoted parent Sharen Krosel as follows: "The whole magnet program is contradictory to what it was set up to do. It's created a whole set of inequalities that it was supposed to address." Conclusion: Even though forced busing has been ended in PG County schools, even though the county is now majority black, and even though the student body in the county is now super-majority black (77%), Prince Georges County school officials -- either knowingly or through willful ignorance -- appear to be enforcing contradictory policies which clearly limit the number of non-black children who will be allowed to attend certain, highly desirable schools in the system while at the same time actively inviting black children to attend those same desirable schools. SOURCES: Washington Post 7/7/02 story; last known links to
Washington Post story: MD Schools to Receive Bounty for Increasing Minority Scores (07/29/99) "Maryland's public schools from now on will have to ensure that minority groups of students are progressing as well as the rest of the school to be eligible for cash awards from the state. "The Maryland State Department of Education each year rewards schools that show significant improvement for two or more years on the state's school report card, which is based primarily on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program tests all third, fifth and eighth graders take each spring. "Last year 83 public schools, including eight from Prince George's County, shared $2.75 million. All of Prince George's prizes were more than $30,000 each. "The problem that concerned educators is that minority students - primarily black and Hispanic students - have not performed as well on the MSPAP tests as white students have. 'We don't want schools to be rewarded only on the basis of white students' performance,' said Mark Moody, assistant state schools superintendent. 'Everybody has to improve.'
"So the Maryland State Board of Education yesterday changed the rules. Schools
receiving awards this fall must be helping their minority populations - defined as 10 or
more students in a particular ethnic, racial or other group - progress along with the
school's majority, the board voted unanimously." (The Journal Newspapers,
Montgomery County Edition, page A7 by Kristen Klick) Magnet Schools Fail to Attract White Students (11/03/99 - dead link)
Original Washington Post Headline: Magnet Schools Fall Short in Prince
Georges. "Most are producing no better results on state exams than the rest of the county's schools, and 11 of 28 magnet elementary schools have not attracted enough white students to meet their racial diversity goals, the report said. In many cases, the magnet schools have failed to provide their advertised classes, including one elementary school that was supposed to offer Latin but had no Latin teacher. "The magnet school analysis was ordered last summer by a federal judge who ended 26 years of cross-county busing to achieve racial balance in Prince George's schools. School board members and Superintendent Iris T. Metts said they will continue to use magnet programs to promote voluntary integration in a school system that is about 76 percent African American. But they said they also want the programs to emphasize academic achievement and parental involvement. "We have to think about changing our [admissions] criteria. The magnet schools were created purely for desegregation, and there was no academic component other than luring people into schools," School Board Vice Chairman Doyle Niemann (Mount Rainier) said. "That should not be the focus anymore. Desegregation is still important, but we need to make sure the programs are academically sound."
"Currently, students apply to a lottery and are selected to the programs – with
the exception of French immersion, fine arts and talented and gifted – based
on racial goals, with no academic entry requirements." [Emphasis
added.] (Washington Post 11/03/99 page B01 by David Nakamura) Judge Orders End to Forced Busing (09/02/98 - dead link) "A federal judge has ordered an end to mandatory busing at Prince George’s County Schools in Maryland, concluding a 26-year effort to achieve racial balance. Transportation Director Ken Savoid praised the decision, saying court-ordered desegregation in the Washington, D.C., suburb no longer makes sense. 'It’s costly and serves no purpose,' he said. " 'When busing started in 1973, what you basically saw was busloads of white and black kids passing each other,' Savoid said. 'Now you see only black kids passing each other. They’re going from one predominantly black neighborhood to a school in another predominantly black neighborhood.'
"The agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte phases out mandatory
busing over the next six years and calls for the construction of 13 neighborhood schools
and the refurbishing of existing ones. Beginning next year, students will begin returning
to neighborhood schools, though they will have the option of staying in their current
schools." (School Bus News, 09/02/98)
END of Prince Georges County, Maryland - Racial Quotas in Education |
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