Parent shares Baltimore school choice dilemma

After reading journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones' viral New York Times essay about her child's school decisions, I am thinking about my own choices.

“The cold prickles of recognition ran up my neck as I read journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones' now-viral New York Times essay about the repercussions of enrolling her then-kindergarten daughter in an impoverished and predominantly Black Brooklyn school, rather than a "wealthy white" one.”

Parent's school choice dilemma

I wanted good academics and a place where he'd have students and teachers who looked like him when picking a school for my son in 2020.

Hannah-Jones' decision

She wrote that she and her husband "felt an obligation to make educational decisions based on the collective good and not just our individual advantage."

“She wrote that she and her husband "felt an obligation to make educational decisions based on the collective good and not just our individual advantage."”

Hannah-Jones' daughter's perspective

Her daughter now believes that was a mistake, making Hannah-Jones reconsider her choices.

Baltimore parent's experience

Julian Fuller, a Baltimore-raised father and educator, sent his kids to religious private schools and eventually Baltimore County public schools.

“Catch me when the last house on the block is for sale, when I'm not the first.”

York County parent's experience

Imanii Woodard moved her children from York to Harford County, wanting her daughter to attend a predominantly Black and academically well-regarded school.

“Sometimes, as Black people, you can’t win either way. I’m at the point where I’m listening to my children about school.”

Mount Vernon parent's experience

Donald Earl Collins attended an underserved, 99% Black school in Mount Vernon, New York, and later moved to a mostly white school on a gifted-and-talented track.

“It was a massive culture shock. That was part of the program.”

School choice program

Baltimore City's school choice program aims to provide access to academically well-regarded schools like Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Western High School, or Baltimore City College.

Private school dilemma

Private schools like Gilman have produced stories of garden-variety racism despite academic prestige.

“Baltimore Brew’s 2020 article about a series of Instagram posts by Black students and faculty confirming upper-class schools still produce garden-variety racism”