# Streeter: I moved my son to Baltimore for school

> Parent shares Baltimore school choice dilemma after Nikole Hannah-Jones' essay.
- Title: Streeter: I moved my son to Baltimore for school · The Banner
- Summary: Parent shares Baltimore school choice dilemma after Nikole Hannah-Jones' essay. Leslie Gray Streeter moved her son to Baltimore for school, hoping it was the…
- Keywords: leslie gray streeter, nikole hannah-jones, baltimore, school choice, racial tensions, baltimore polytechnic institute, western high school, baltimore city college, mcdonogh school, gillman school, black parents, school segregation
- Source: The Banner — https://thebanner.com/opinion/column/nikole-hannah-jones-baltimore-school-choice-racism-FWC7NH5VM5CWVCUFGKOE7F6GYE
- Author: Leslie Gray Streeter
- Published: 2026-09-29T14:35:58.497+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: leslie gray streeter, nikole hannah-jones, baltimore, school choice, racial tensions, baltimore polytechnic institute, western high school, baltimore city college, mcdonogh school, gillman school, black parents, school segregation
## 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
## Key takeaway

Leslie Gray Streeter moved her son to Baltimore for school, hoping it was the right choice amid racial and academic tensions.