SCHOOL INTEGRATION
Successfully desegregating a school community is not easy. In a system built to keep children of color learning separately from their better-resourced white peers, breaking down barriers requires investment, struggle, and transformation.
For students of color, the experience of being among a handful of children marked as different (and frequently assumed to be "behind" in a variety of ways) can be troubling, and even traumatic.
For white students and teachers, learning to overcome biases that are often unconscious can be frustrating—and understanding how those biases have been embedded into structures that seem unchangeable can feel overwhelming.
The long-term benefits are clear, if not always known by the whole community. METCO Headquarters provides resources to help spark honest discussion and empathy, and suggest strategies and tools to turn challenges into opportunities to grow into truly integrated schools.
INTEGRATION IN THE NEWS
NJ.com: N.J. district accused of segregation settles lawsuit, will integrate under eye of federal monitor, July 16, 2020
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS board to begin discussions on desegregating schools in southeastern Wisconsin, June 30, 2020
New York Times: It Was Never About Busing, July 12, 2019
Brentwood Home Page: Parents Voice Concerns About 'White Privilege," Cultural Sensitivity at Williamson County Schools Cultural Competency Meeting, March 28, 2019
New York Times: NYC Public Schools Should Be Evaluated Based on Diversity, Not Just Tests, Panel Says, February 12, 2019
Phi Delta Kappan: Voluntary Integration in Uncertain Times, January 21, 2019