(NAME-MCE) Diversity declines in some Cincinnati magnet schools

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Diversity declines in some Cincinnati magnet schools

Some of Cincinnati's most successful public schools have become less
racially diverse. Magnet programs that had a roughly even mix of races
in 2003 now have racial majorities. Some are eager to restore
diversity, but a federal law banning racial considerations in
public-school enrollment could hamper efforts.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090726/NEWS0102/907270305/1055/NEWS/Diversity+loss+concerns+CPS+parents

Diversity loss concerns CPS parents

By Ben Fischer • bfischer at enquirer.com • July 26, 2009

When Clifton resident Patty Donnelly started looking at schools more
than a decade ago for her children, she wanted a place "that mirrored
what real life was going to be like" - in other words, a racially
diverse classroom.

So the family ended up at Fairview German Language School, one of
Cincinnati Public's elite magnet schools. The magnet programs were
created to foster integration and at the time, Fairview's student body
had nearly equal numbers of African-Americans and whites, as well
other races.

But in recent years, Fairview and two more of the city's in-demand,
high-performing magnet programs have become steadily less diverse,
alarming parents and other supporters who say the racial balance is
integral to their mission.

The trend began before the U.S. Supreme Court effectively outlawed
racial considerations in public-school enrollment in 2007. But that
edict is exacerbating the problem, district officials say, and will
pose a major legal challenge to any efforts to restore the balance.

White students now make up a large majority at Fairview (since renamed
Fairview-Clifton) and Sands Montessori in Mount Washington, while
North Avondale Montessori is now majority African-American. All three
were split roughly evenly as recently as 2003.

Compared to most other schools, they're still among the most racially
integrated schools in Greater Cincinnati - no race makes up more than
three-fifths of the student body at any of them. But the trends are
undeniable and persistent, and seem to have several causes.

The three are among the most prestigious of CPS' 21 magnet programs,
which offer a variety of specialties in addition to foreign languages
and Montessori programs. They enroll about one-fourth of CPS's 34,000
students.

A fourth racially split Montessori school, Dater Montessori on the
West Side, has not seen major shifts in its demographics.

"I don't know if it's a huge concern yet, but there's a noticeable
difference," Donnelly said. "And I think it's important to figure out
why and maybe take steps to change it."

Since 2002, Fairview went from 45 percent white to 60 percent white.
Sands changed from 42 percent white to 64 percent white. And North
Avondale went from 48 percent African-American to 63 percent
African-American.

Overall, Cincinnati Public Schools' racial split hasn't changed much.
African-Americans continue to make up about 70 percent of the
district, and whites average between one-fifth and one-fourth of the
district. The biggest change to the overall numbers in recent is years
is the growth of other racial categories, particular Hispanic and
multi-racial categories.

The trend is particularly troublesome to the Montessori community,
which says a balanced student body in all respects is crucial to the
Montessori method. The method relies on individualized learning pace,
a less structured environment and learning through interactions with
other students as well as from teachers.

"One of the tenets of Montessori is no longer there," said Maurice
Faison, a father of North Avondale students. "It'd be like if the
performing arts school gets rid of the arts program."

The changes are likely the result of several factors, some specific to
one of the schools, others influencing all of them.

For instance, Sands moved from mostly black West End to mostly white
Mount Washington in 2001. Even though the magnet schools don't have
rigid attendance zones, parents then feared the changed location would
naturally lead to a different student body.

North Avondale is also temporarily in an old building, although that
move only happened one year ago. Fairview moved from University
Heights to Clifton in 2008, too, but parents say that move was too
recent and too subtle to cause the major changes.

Also, two years ago, CPS made a seemingly subtle shift that could have
impacted the racial balance at North Avondale and Sands. Rather than
steering families in each of four city quadrants to particular
Montessori elementary schools, the district instead allowed parents to
choose between multiple Montessori schools in two zones.

Some parents believe that's allowed Sands to become the east side's
"white" Montessori and North Avondale to become the "black" version
through self-selection.

Before the Supreme Court ruling, the school district kept separate
waiting lists for black and non-black students, which was
controversial by itself. But it did give CPS officials a measure of
control over the racial makeup, even though they didn't control who
secured the available spots before the waiting list.

There's also an ongoing debate over how best to organize the annual
enrollment period for the magnet programs, with many arguing the
first-come, first-serve arrangement favors wealthier parents. But
those rules have changed frequently as officials experiment with
different options, and the details' actual impact on the schools'
makeup is disputed.

"It's a very complicated problem. If there was an easy fix, we would
have done it," said Matt Fallerhoff, a Mount Washington resident with
three children at Sands. "And we talk about the various intake
options, and there are two sides to every coin. I don't know if any of
those will solve all of those diversity problems."

Last year, the district invited the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the
Council of Great City Schools, a coalition of large urban districts,
to look for ways to ensure diversity without running afoul of the
Supreme Court ruling. That work continues, but a final report is still
likely many months away, said school board President Eileen Cooper
Reed.

Board member Melanie Bates, a North Avondale resident, wants to move
more quickly, and she asked the board to take up the issues now -
ideally in time to make changes to the magnet school sign-up process
in time for this year's enrollment period in November.

"I think it's worth the board's time so we maintain diversity in our
schools, or else we're back in the 1950s again. And that's one of the
big attractions of CPS, a high-quality education in a diverse
environment."