During its redistricting process the school board has neglected Jefferson-Houston — the city’s only non-accredited school and by some measures the third worst school in the entire state. Currently, 75 percent of Jefferson Houston students receive free or subsidized lunches and 85 percent have minority status. Wealthy parents in the Jefferson-Houston district opt out by administrative or programmatic transfers to other schools,
moving away, or sending their children to private school. Poorer families do not have these options and are forced by the school board to go to a failing school.
Two school districts bordering Jefferson Houston (Lyles-Crouch and Matthew Maury) have much lower shares of students with free or subsidized lunches (25 percent) and much higher shares of white students (50 percent-plus). The school border between Jefferson Houston and Lyles-Crouch is particularly stunning. The boundary is on King Street, one block from the Jefferson Houston school — even though the ability to walk to school is a criterion for redistricting.
The school board should use redistricting to (1) give poor and minority students currently concentrated in Jefferson Houston (and few or no options to move or go to private school) more chances for a better education; and (2) attract more wealthy parents to send their kids to public school.
Redrawing school district boundaries and creating more balanced schools by race/ethnicity and income is a powerful tool. For some reason the school board is not using it. I think concentrating poor kids and minorities in a failing school and depriving them of chances at a good education is not acceptable. In my opinion the school board has a moral obligation to act.
Ralph Buehler
Alexandria