This is Public Comment Given at Arlington Public Schools Board Meeting by Anjy Cramer on September 19, 2024. Please note that historical documents are used as references in this blog, which means that you may encounter harmful, discriminatory language that is no longer acceptable. Please proceed with that in mind.
In 1960, Arlington Superintendent Mr. Ray Reid gave testimony to the US Commission on Civil Rights reporting on APS’ desegregation progress. He said, in part:
“Standards of… Arlington County schools are high... [Black] students… experienced severe scholastic difficulties… [They]… are working considerably below the average of other students…”
Dorothy Hamm’s own child was denied admission to the school that now bears her name “for lack of academic achievement.” See Ms. Hamm’s letter below.
Four children desegregated Stratford not because the proximity to whiteness would somehow make them smarter, but because they lacked the same opportunities in their home schools. “Separate but equal” was anything but.
Over-scrutinizing their standardized test scores followed. Here is a document of test scores from SY 1963-64 comparing our three Black schools to APS county averages. Look at how much lower those test scores are. Was it really the fault of the Black kids in segregated schools? Our schools are still segregated. Whose fault is it now?
This is not academic failure. Just as in 1959, it’s a failure of opportunity. We’ve been failing them for 65 years now, not just since the Pandemic. More if you want to talk about when they didn’t even have access to public education. Stop calling it an achievement gap… it’s an OPPORTUNITY GAP.
How many more opportunities does Discovery have with their $118,000 PTA budget, $71K raised at their annual fundraiser last year compared to Carlin Springs? More teacher stipends, more field trips, more enrichment….
I’m not saying don’t collect or analyze the data. I believe you need to put these results in the proper context and create solutions for success based in best practices and academic research rather than wax poetic every year. We need to invest in these children in different and more intensive ways than dominant culture, and that will involve… yes, lots of money, time and commitment. Make the budget work for them!
These kids are so much more than their test scores. I wish people would stop misusing math and statistics to further marginalize them. I know VDOE is forcing your hand too, but APS doesn’t have to frame this issue to suit their narrative either. There are people on the sidelines who are cheering for these children to fail to justify their own agendas. Don’t give them red meat. Our Black, Brown, Immigrant and disAbled children deserve at least that much from APS leadership.
** Thank you to John Stanton, Arlington Public Library, Charlie Clark Center for Local History for assistance in locating the source documents linked herein.
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