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The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a ruling that gave Seattle public schools the authority to use race as a determining factor when admitting students. While many opponents of the practice say the ruling is harmful to the public school system, research shows that all students benefit from ethnically diverse schools. White students are able to learn from others with different backgrounds, helping to dispel stereotypes, and minority students gain access to a variety of networks--such as those that open the doors to college or jobs--that are often missing from racially segregated schools. The court’s decision will strengthen voluntary--and much needed--integration efforts in school districts across the country.
In Seattle, students are allowed to apply to any high school they want. When a school has more applicants than open slots, three "tiebreakers" are used to decide who gets in. Students with a brother or sister already enrolled at the school are selected first. Then, students who will help keep the school in line with the entire district's racial mix, which is over 60-percent minority, are chosen. Any remaining openings go to students based on how close they live to the school. Such "balancing" ensures that all students have access to the education and resources they need to succeed.
Study after study has shown that schools with large minority populations have a disproportionate number of under-qualified teachers with fewer years of experience than racially diverse schools or those with a majority White population do.
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Add to this the lack of essential resources--current textbooks, up-to-date computer labs, tutoring for those who need and want it--and it’s no wonder that nearly half of all Black and Latino students drop out of high school. Many of those who do graduate are ill-prepared for college and the American workforce.
Because race and class often go hand in hand, it is no surprise that economics plays a big part in the success rates of racially diverse schools. Integrated schools tend to have higher enrollments of middle class students. Research has shown that students perform better, regardless of their own economic background, when the average student’s economic status is higher. Exposure to a world outside of their own also increases a student’s ambitions, providing motivation to break down a variety of barriers.
More than half a century after Brown v. Board of Education ended legal raced-based school segregation, many U.S. communities and, as a result, their schools, are voluntarily separated along racial lines. However, several school districts across the country have begun to realize the importance of a racially diverse educational system. Much like affirmative action, school integration levels the playing field, giving minority students the edge they need to be successful in an increasingly competitive society.
Editor’s note: Judge Greg Mathis is Chairman of the Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a National Board Member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. |
