Public school boosterism

The Nightly Build...

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'Choose Woodrow' Campaign Triggers Backlash

Woodrow Wilson High School in east Dallas has a student population that is two-thirds Hispanic, 12 percent black and less than a quarter white. This is despite the fact that 64 percent of the people who live in the school's attendance zone are white. Along with the racial disparity, class disparity is equally stark. A greater percentage of those leaving public school are from middle- and upper-middle-income families, leaving mostly poor students behind.

Parents have launched a "Choose Woodrow" campaign to persuade other parents who send their children to private schools to consider public schooling instead. Boosterism campaigns, as the name implies, focus on the positive. Woodrow Wilson High has something positive to highlight. Newsweek named it one of the nation's best high schools. As we all know, there are many problems in the Dallas Independent School District. The high achievements of some at Woodrow Wilson are not shared equally by all. Test scores for poor students, for blacks and Hispanics, lag.

Now Woodrow Wilson boosterism has triggered a backlash. Rod Dreher, in a Viewpoints article in The Dallas Morning News, blasts Woodrow Wilson for trying to attract more white and upper-middle-class families. He says, "Bringing more neighborhood whites into Woodrow would lift the school's overall scores, but where is the evidence that the rising tide lifts minority boats?" It's as if he's arguing that not only should public schools improve education for Hispanics and blacks, but public schools should ignore neighborhood whites unless it can be shown that somehow their presence is good for the Hispanics and blacks. Why can't Woodrow Wilson try to meet the needs of all of its community? Dreher doesn't say.

Dreher's criticism was quick to draw support from Wick Allison in a Frontburner blog post titled "Talking Truth to Boosterism." He says, "Bravo to Rod Dreher for laying out the uncomfortable facts about Woodrow Wilson High School and our dismal failure to educate minority students." That minority test results are unacceptable is not disputed. The "Choose Woodrow" campaign is not an attempt to cover up this failure. It's an attempt to attract those families who currently choose not to send their children to public school.

The Dallas Morning News editorial writer Michael Landauer dares to contradict his coworker in his own blog post titled "Rod's Big Mistake." He says, "The campaign is about getting families involved in the school who have taken an active interest in their children's education." You'd think every supporter of public schools would want more active parents.

Maybe the source of the backlash is in the false assumption that we are all supporters of public schools. Rod Dreher's last paragraph reveals what his real interest is in this fight. He says, "Let's not kid ourselves with diversity cant and moralistic truisms about how the school and the community gets stronger if everybody sends their kids to public schools -- and with the concomitant demonization of parochial and private education." There you have it. Rod Dreher sees Woodrow Wilson boosterism as equivalent to "demonization" of religious schools.

I used to think we all had our public schools' best interests at heart. We may disagree over educational philosophy and methods, but we all share the same goal of providing a good education for all of our children. Now, I've changed my mind. Some see this goal as "cant". Some see education as a zero sum game, where attempts to improve Woodrow Wilson High School are perceived as threats to religious schools. It's hard enough for public schools to improve when the community is on their side. It's impossible when some in the community see public schooling as a threat to their own vested interests.