OK, well that still doesn't make sense when you look at the reality on the ground.
The African American population is higher in the eighth ward than the fifth ward. The fifth ward ONCE was the predominant black ward, but that is no longer the case. And that is the crux of the problem: the board and admin are operating without engaging wit…
OK, well that still doesn't make sense when you look at the reality on the ground.
The African American population is higher in the eighth ward than the fifth ward. The fifth ward ONCE was the predominant black ward, but that is no longer the case. And that is the crux of the problem: the board and admin are operating without engaging with the contemporary reality.
IF we really think race is important, we should ask if there markedly different educational outcomes between the African American kids in the eighth ward--the predominantly black ward WITH a neighborhood school--and the fifth ward? Probably not. Where is the analysis?
They use the "Fifth Ward School" terminology and link the need for a new school to the closing of Foster in the 70s is because they are ENTIRELY driven by nostalgia. There is a small group of long-term residents who remember back to their childhood with fondness and want to replicate those halcyon days of yore. They don't like the changes that have occurred in the ward over the last 20 years--especially the ethnic diversification and gentrification in the ward. They want to "Make The Fifth Ward Great Again."
Nostalgia is a natural human sentiment. We all have it to some degree.
It is not, however, the sentiment that should guide education funding and investment. A $30 million dollar construction project that is taking money from the operating budget is irresponsible and--most importantly--will likely result in poor outcomes for the kids they purport to want to help as the district has to service this debt for years.
And of course, the ironic thing is that many of my friends in the real estate business here are predicting the new school will intensify the gentrification pressures in the fifth ward, which will cause further anxiety amongst the MFWGA crowd.
OK, well that still doesn't make sense when you look at the reality on the ground.
The African American population is higher in the eighth ward than the fifth ward. The fifth ward ONCE was the predominant black ward, but that is no longer the case. And that is the crux of the problem: the board and admin are operating without engaging with the contemporary reality.
IF we really think race is important, we should ask if there markedly different educational outcomes between the African American kids in the eighth ward--the predominantly black ward WITH a neighborhood school--and the fifth ward? Probably not. Where is the analysis?
They use the "Fifth Ward School" terminology and link the need for a new school to the closing of Foster in the 70s is because they are ENTIRELY driven by nostalgia. There is a small group of long-term residents who remember back to their childhood with fondness and want to replicate those halcyon days of yore. They don't like the changes that have occurred in the ward over the last 20 years--especially the ethnic diversification and gentrification in the ward. They want to "Make The Fifth Ward Great Again."
Nostalgia is a natural human sentiment. We all have it to some degree.
It is not, however, the sentiment that should guide education funding and investment. A $30 million dollar construction project that is taking money from the operating budget is irresponsible and--most importantly--will likely result in poor outcomes for the kids they purport to want to help as the district has to service this debt for years.
And of course, the ironic thing is that many of my friends in the real estate business here are predicting the new school will intensify the gentrification pressures in the fifth ward, which will cause further anxiety amongst the MFWGA crowd.