Are Our Schools In Crisis?: Why is Dwight Morrow High School Segregated?

Separate prom king and queen - you have got to be kidding.

I have not heard of anything like this since I left the racial turmoil created by the fight for civil rights in the south. Immediately following enforced integration high school proms were separated quite like this. Were the DMHS and Academy program students really at the same prom?  Is this what Englewood residents really want? There will always be tracking of some sort regardless of what we do. It is very destructive to the human psyche of both groups to separate them physically into 2 different buildings. The Board of Education has the power to fix this. What is the administration and the Board of Educaiton trying to tell us by promoting segregation?

The following is a list of reasons why I withdrew my neice from the Academy:

• She was chastised for speaking to Dwight Morrow High School Students
• She was chastised for waving to Dwight Morrow High School Students
• The blinds were drawn on the North side of the King Hall building (Academy) so students could not see the North building
• A group of Latin and African American students were told (by Mr. Smith) that they would not last 3 months in the Academy, because they were singing hip hop at the lunch table
• DMHS students were not allowed in the South building
• Academy students were not allowed in the North building
• She was involved in several inappropriate conversations with the then coordinator, a Mr. Smith as he berated her friends.
• My neice never fully recovered from the treatment she received at the Academy. She was robbed of a free public education. 
• Her inner spirit made it impossible to survive there. I removed her for her own safety, because she had some very strong opinons about why they were separated.

The Academy@Englewood program must be assessed. The AVID, ACADEMY PREP, AND IVY PROGRAMS MUST ALSO BE ASSESSED. What exactly is the Academy program bringing to our district anyway? Most of the students are not from Englewood. They are also  not the best and the brightest from their home district. The Academies@Englewood is the worst example of tracking this educator has ever seen. It is not necessary to physically separate students  in 2 buildings. Regardless of what anyone tells you, the STATE  did not decide this. Do the research for yourself. You will find that our board of education decided to physically separate the students. It is NOT necessary to separate the children in SCHOOL CHOICE. You will not find this blatant model of segragation anywhere else but Englewood. Board Members have convinced themselves that this is a fine example of integration. I say BULL. I yell BULL!  Leave those biases at home! Each of you took an OATH. Stop the madness. Draw up a new master schedule and mix those kids up. If we lose a few students from other towns, they did not belong here in the first place. (In towns where students are all white is anyone trying to ship in African Americans or any other third world group to integrate the schools?)  The answer is no.

Vocabulary

This is Englewood's Model

Tracking - Practice of grouping students in curricular paths by achievement levels, for example, college preparatory or vocational. See also Homogeneous grouping.
Homogeneous Grouping - Organizing students for instruction on the basis of one or more common characteristics. Most frequently, homogeneous groups are created on the basis of student achievement.

The Alternative
Heterogeneous Grouping - Grouping together of students of varying abilities, interests, or ages.

Heterogeneous Grouping - Organizing students of varying achievement levels or needs in the same classroom (the opposite of homogeneous grouping).

NCLB – No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 - Signed into law on January 8, 2002. It reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the main federal law regarding K-12 education. The four main pillars of NCLB are: accountability; flexibility and local control; enhanced parental choice and a focus on what works in the classroom. NCLB requires state governments and educational systems to help low-achieving students in high-poverty schools meet the same academic performance standards that apply to all students

Title I - A federally funded program designed to improve the academic achievement of poor and disadvantaged children in elementary and secondary schools. It originated with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.  
Values Education - Transmission of values, such as respect for others, civility, empathy, and fairness. Also known as character education or ethics education.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FAIL!

"How are the children?"