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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Alyssa Granacki: Until Schools Are No Longer Separate, We Must Strive for Equal

Alyssa Granacki: Until Schools Are No Longer Separate, We Must Strive for Equal:


Until Schools Are No Longer Separate, We Must Strive for Equal

Posted: 07/25/2012 2:02 pm






As a first-year teacher, I believed the incredibleresults that my charter school produced couldn't be anything but positive. Then, in February, newresearch suggesting charter schools promoted segregation by removing minority students from public schools caused me to reevaluate my thoughts on the charter system I worked for. Was I complicit in, encouraging even, a system of racial injustice?
Although progress has been made since Brown, our schools (public and charter alike) are still separated by socio-economic status, which too often falls along divisions of color. The notion that charter schools, which provide an alternative to public education, support segregation is incorrect and unwarranted. Our country's urban environments are plagued with segregated schools, as socioeconomic disparity separates low-income minorities and middle-class white students. Charter schools, for the most part, seek to serve those students who have been left behind.