Plan to blend predominantly Black and White DC schools leads to tense debate in liberal neighborhood

A plan to integrate two nearby Washington, D.C., schools with vastly different racial backgrounds is sparking fierce debate among parents in the predominantly liberal community.

Nearly 6 in 10 of the 500 children at Maury Elementary School are White. At Miner Elementary School, 80% of the kids are Black, many of whom are in foster care, receive public assistance or are homeless. Enrollment at the school has been declining, according to The Washington Post.

District officials have put together a plan where children would spend their early education at one school and later transfer to the other. Their goal is to improve diversity at both institutions by pairing previously separate demographics together.

"From my perspective, there’s a lot of unknowns about what the quality of the school would look like," Jonathan Rothwell, who has two children enrolled at Maury, said.

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He also worried that teachers would leave the school because of the integration, an issue brought up during a tense town hall meeting with Maury families back in November.

"A lot of parents are already satisfied with Maury, and this jeopardizes that satisfaction," he added.

Maury parent-teacher association co-president Shavanna Miller was one of the people who spoke up at the town hall and said children can "fall through the cracks" when they move from one school to another.

"I think it’s not just because the children have to adjust their environment. I think it’s because a whole new set of adults needs to understand the kids, understand their family, understand their needs and how to best support them," she said.

Some Maury parents admitted that they would consider leaving the area if the plan goes through.

The proposal has sparked in-person and online debate. Petitions for and against the plan have also cropped up, with typically liberal parents criticizing the impact integration could have on their child’s education journey,

Maury parents are concerned that the integration plan could bring down averages at a school that typically scores higher on standardized tests than Miner. Meanwhile, Miner parents are worried that the proposal could jeopardize programs that helped disadvantaged students, such as free eye exams and glasses.

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"As we’ve shared in our citywide community engagements, racially and socioeconomically diverse schools are one of the guiding principles of the study," the office of D.C. Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn said in a statement.

"We believe that all students and communities flourish when schools have diverse student bodies, provided that schools have, at a minimum, welcoming, affirming, and culturally and linguistically responsive environments for students and families."

Officials stressed that they are in talks with parents and hosting dozens of meetings to quell concerns. The advisory committee will offer recommendations to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in March. She will then decide which recommendations should be put in place.

Some parents, such as Kiki Fox, support the proposal and think it would offer benefits to both schools.

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"Instead of just making one school better and one school more diverse, we can offer that to both," Fox, a Miner parent, said. "It’s surprising to some of us that people aren’t able to think of the bigger picture, which is the fact that, yes, this could be disruptive for a lot of people for some time. I definitely understand that, but the benefits are going to be much further reaching for much longer."

Miner parent Jeff Grietz also has hopes for the proposal and has released a petition for the measure that has added 300 signatures so far.

"It struck me as a way to lift students at both schools but, in particular, students at Miner. And hopefully, improve educational outcomes," he said.