Neighborhood Schools- Is It Ruining Our Public Schools?

As many already know, or even been a victim of, neighborhood schools in America are on the rise. For those who are not familiar with neighborhood schools, they are schools which force students to go to the schools that are closest to home. Regardless of the socio-economic background of majority of the students, kids are still forced to go to that school. Unfortunately, with many of today’s public school districts using this method to assign students to schools, more problems are arising due to the lack diversity. Not only does neighborhood schools create the issue of re-segregation, but people are also concerned that all schools are not equal, therefore leaving some students at a disadvantage. To answer whether all schools are equal or not, studies show that schools in working or lower class neighborhood are not equal in comparison to upper or middle class neighborhoods. Research shows that students in middle class schools are more likely to perform higher on standardized tests and do better in class, than students from lower income schools. Why is that? Various reasons from the lack of parent of involvement to the lack of resources available can cause this dilemma. Unfortunately, it’s not unusual to hear of low income schools not only have the resources such as textbooks to use for class, they also tend to not have best teachers. With students not having the proper resources from the beginning, they are already put at a disadvantage in being prepared for the future. With various programs in place trying to fix the problems in low income schools, it is sad but it goes back to the fact that in order to get a decent education in this country, you must have money. With the recession taking a toll on many families and forcing them to settle in lower income neighborhoods, the problem of unequal schools and students not being prepared for the future is on the rise.

The following map shows the current high school boundaries in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. FYI, the schools in the middle/ upper-class areas (northern & southern Mecklenburg County w/ the exception of Myers Park, which is one of the wealthiest areas of Charlotte) are considered the best schools in Charlotte, while the schools in the middle, often fail to meet adequate progress. Because the neighborhood school policy, I wasn’t allow to attend a school that was 10 minutes away from my house. The school, which was not only new, it also offered more classes than the high school that I went to.

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/StudentPlacement/Documents/High_bdy_1011.pdf