In an era of failing schools, many parents and educators are doing their best to make sure kids receive the best education they can. And in St. Louis County in Missouri, that means that students who were previously enrolled in failing, unaccredited schools are being bused to top performing schools. And while this is in the displaced students’ best interests, the district’s decision has parents and politicians showing just how biased they are when it comes to race and class. That’s right–kids who should be worrying about trying out for teams and applying to college are instead hearing they’re going to be ruining their new school.
Starting Thursday, 475 students will be bused from almost 30 miles away to begin the year at Francis Howell High School, reports the Associated Press, and that’s just one of the receiving schools.That’s because their last schools were failing them. But instead of seeing this as a valuable opportunity for students from schools who’ve unfortunately lost their accreditation, the school transfer has parents and politicians complaining about those invading students bringing in their crime and their low test scores. Concerned parents even showed up at a school board meeting asking for metal detectors to be installed. A reasonable, unconcerned parent told the AP, “ A lot of the parents feel their children’s education will somehow be lessened.”
So let’s just call a spade a bigoted spade. This is racism and classism . The Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts, which are now unaccredited, are urban with primarily poor and black students while the districts the students are moving in the predominantly white and wealthy suburbs. Parents of students in the nice district are worried their precious kids will be contaminated by the new students. But low test scores aren’t something a kid can catch just by sitting in a classroom with someone who doesn’t score as well as he does. Luckily, most of the students are a little more open-minded than their parents. They’re excited to participate in the school’s mentor program that pairs returning students with new students from the failing districts.
Still, some opponents of the school transfer make a good point about the financial impact on the already struggling districts. Those districts will have to pay $30 million to the receiving districts to accommodate the new students. That’s money that won’t go to the students that are left behind and it won’t help the school system get back on track. But something has to be done in the meantime to make sure that deserving students who were dealt an unfortunate set of circumstances can still move ahead.
How do you feel about school busing programs like the one in Missouri?
