Report a Comment

“Diversity- the difference between people including, but not limited to, shape, size, ability, gender, color, age, sexual orientation, family background, economic status, spiritual belief, race, culture, ethnicity and political affiliation.”

Unfortunately, the author makes the assumption that racial diversity between whites and blacks = the only diversity that matters. What about the Latinos, Asians, and growing Muslim populations? Let me take it a step further and address the growing diversity of LGBT parents in the DCPS system. Why do they not count? Ross Elementary encompasses all of these things and much more. We celebrated Eid this past year because of our large and growing Islamic population, not a percentage noted in the article because it only addressed race. The limited understanding of diversity and what it entails is what makes this article not fully address the importance of diversity for students and their parents.

"At Ross Elementary in Dupont Circle, for instance, the school is about one-third white, one-third black, and one-third Hispanic, but that doesn't mean every class is an even mix; the younger grades are far whiter, the older grades far less, as the school's rising reputation drew more of the local residents and their kids. Incoming classes, with no space for out-of-boundary kids, are the least diverse." I'm not sure where exactly these facts came from, but I know they are far from accurate. The percentages are also outdated. How do I know? I am a parent of two Ross students and have been the long term ELL (English Language Learners) teacher since January through the end of the year. Ross lost it's full time ELL teacher this past year because last year's numbers did not meet the requirements for a full time ELL teacher, because our high ELL enrollment was down. After many interviews with less then qualified applicants, I agreed to accept teaching in a long term substitute position for the benefit of the students in the school (this is my field as an educator and current consultant in linguistics). All of that changes with this year's enrollment. We will again have a full time ELL teacher in the Fall because our enrollment diversity needs are so high.

This is due to a variety of reasons. Here are the facts, though - this past year's third grade had the largest ELL population followed by Kinder, PreK and Pre-School. Students the article assumes to be white in these lower grades are from countries around the world - from the Czech Republic to Nepal to Italy and speak multiple languages. Their needs are of key importance as are any other students. Those students that seem to fall into the "African-American" segment are actually from Nigeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, etc.

I question whether the author has taken the time to actually talk to the administration, teachers or parents currently in the school. Has the author of this article walked through the school during the school year to actually witness the reality? I would also question whether the writer has walked through schools such as Cleveland, Tyler, Maury and others that I am sure would be equally offended by the standards of diversity stated here.

Ross ES and many other schools in the city are vastly changing in a variety of ways because or their leadership and the surrounding communities. Some, like Ross, value the true definition of diversity and expect that those coming in value it the same way as the established community. The failure of some schools is in part to that the existing culture is not considered worth giving attention and/or collaboration. The 'new generation' assumes they know better. There is value in looking at strengths beyond intellect and economic status and valuing those already there. If you want to improve your neighborhood school, then work with the parents, community and staff already there. Learn what they want and expect and find ways to bring everyone's beliefs together. It's not easy and it doesn't happen overnight, but it's worth it. Ross PTA spent more than $5000 this year in after-school scholarships for students who couldn't otherwise afford enrichment classes not offered by the DCPS after-school program (OST). That stands as an example of how much we value ALL of our students. Where did the Ross PTA get $5000? It was part of the budget from parent-driven fund-raising activities such as revenue from our auction and Holiday Tree sale that is heavily supported by non-parents and neighbors in our community in and around Dupont. Please note that it was hard driven and committed community members that kept Ross going for years.

All I ask of the writer is that when you publish an article such as this, please take the time to get the facts straight and talk about a topic as important as diversity in DCPS in a more substantive way. It will be appreciated by more readers. However, most the parents who know the facts and see it each day already understand this. Diversity doesn't have to do only with color, it has to do with the whole person and their right to a strong education despite the color of their skin and the limited understanding of others who make assumptions based on just that.

by Lee Granados on Jul 20, 2012 11:20 am • link • report