Today the Wake County School Board in Raleigh, NC  will meet.  Today, the school board will further discuss their plans to redistrict the schools, effectively ending a decade-long policy aimed at creating socio-economic diversity in Wake County Schools.  Today, thousands will meet in downtown Raleigh to protest this decision, this decision that has been described by Claude Pope, chairman of the Wake County Republican Party, as a “mandate” by voters. The school board argues in favor of neighborhood schools and to end busing of students to create economically diverse schools.  They argue that this will make schools stronger, communities stronger, and is more convenient for parents.   Protesters argue that this is re-segregation, that those from poorer neighborhoods will  end up in faltering schools,  that many magnet schools will lose their funding.

Today, as a former high school teacher in Wake County Schools, and a firm believer that ALL students deserve the best that we can give them,  I wish I was at that protest.

I am not going to go into what the empirical data in test scores state about the diversity policy, as I will fervently argue that test scores tell very little about actual learning (although right now, before changes are in effect,  these test scores are showing a closing of the achievement gap across all economic situations and races).  I am not going to go into whether or not this policy is a form of racism.  What I am going to tell you is about my own experience as a teacher in Wake County Schools.  I will tell you about the  “evidence” I collected as teacher, the evidence that this diversity policy works.

I served as a  teacher at Sanderson High School in Wake County for three years, between the years 2002-2005. I served as co-advisor for class council.  I tutored and performed workshops for teachers.  I was highly vested in the school and the students. Most teachers I know in this school are highly dedicated to providing the best education for the students. Sanderson High School is in North Raleigh.  The current statistics of the school are diverse, with minorities making up over 46% of the population.  Over one-hundred students are Limited English Proficient.  I could not find any current information on how many students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program, however, if I am recalling this correctly, approximately 20% qualified for the program. The population was diverse, the challenges of differentiating, many.  However, in my experience, the diversity of the school was one of its great strengths.

Never in my time in Sanderson did I “dumb” down the curriculum for students.  I differentiated instruction and made sure that all students were learning to the best of their ability, that all students were challenged.  Was it difficult?  Of course.  But I would not accept excuses from myself or my students.  Many other teachers wouldn’t either.  Our job was to educate all the students, make sure all student had comprehension of the material, challenge all the students.  Can these things happen in neighborhood schools as well, demanding the best from all?  Potentially.  But……

Poverty is a difficult thing.  People who have lived poverty, worked with people in poverty, taught in poverty know that it is a strange and difficult state of being.  It truly gets in your psyche, changes communities, changes thought process, gives a sense of fear, a sense of loyalty and place.  I will give you an example.  I had this student at Sanderson.  He was intelligent.  He was crazy intelligent.  He had a good head on his shoulders, common sense, and the ability to succeed, if only he tried.  He also came from poverty.  One day, after earning a D on an exam, I pulled him aside after class.  I asked him, “What happened?  I know that you know this information.  What is the problem? Is there something going on I can help you with?”

He looked me straight in the eye.  His response took the wind out of me.

“Ms. Fiore, I can’t do well.   I’d be disrespecting the block. You don’t know where I come from.”

I think I paused, took a deep breath, and blinked 10 times before I answered.

“D—–, you are right.  I can’t know. But let me ask you, is this your block?  When you are here, in this school, in this classroom, you are not on the block.  You are on my block.  And here, on my block, you only have to worry about one thing, disrespecting yourself.  You are a smart kid, with real potential. You need to honor that. Many people here and at home, are working to give you opportunities.  Respect them, and yourself, and grab those opportunities.”

I challenged him.

I gave him the permission to succeed.

He left my class with an B+ average.

He is just one example of many that did better, learned more than they would have if they were in a school where the majority of kids lived in poverty, where resources were scarce,  where there was a high teacher turn-over rate due to burnout, and where there is  a constant reminder of who they might be disrespecting on the block.  It is a dramatic example, but an example nonetheless.  As teachers, we were all afforded a safe place where kids had the permission to succeed.  The Wake County diversity policy, by my own estimation and experiences, worked beautifully.  It took kids from poor neighborhoods and gave them a fighting chance.  It provided teachers with enough support that they would not face burnout from dealing with many of the issues surrounding schools of poverty. It provided a situation where a sense of despair was eased, where the sense of entitlement taken down a few notches.

Today, it has been taken away. Wake County is set to go back to neighborhood schools where there will be schools that will close, schools that will have a 90% or greater poverty level,  and where magnet schools will be in jeopardy of losing their funding.  There will be schools that will lack resources and a stable teaching staff.

More students will be lost in the system. We will fail them.

And for what?  For parent convenience even if that means a drop in student achievement?  For politics?  For the supposed “strengthening of neighborhoods”?  Is there empirical evidence that supports that?

Today, even though I cannot be there, fighting alongside the community, fighting alongside teachers and adminsitrators that know that this is a bad idea, I lend my voice.  I urge Wake County parents, teachers, students, and voters to stand up and not stand for this repeal.  I urge you to stand up and fight for all students, to give all of the students a chance.

I am standing here with you.