Denver public schools still struggling to desegregate 25 years after busing ends
With a single school leading the way Denver is attempting to turn around its record on integrating schools, which has gained little in the past few decades
Denver’s school system is making progressive efforts to integrate students from various backgrounds into schools after struggling with integration as far back as the Civil Rights era.
Currently, more than half of public schools are still segregated in the city, but a newly opened school, Denver Green School Northfield, is looking to change that, The Denver Post reports.
The school has a population of Black and Latino students at 22 percent each, white students make up 41 percent, Asian and multiracial make up the rest of the student body.
READ MORE: As Dems debate busing, southern schools slowly desegregate
Denver Green School Northfield is seeking to set the platform for their schools following suit, but activists and parents are questioning if the effort is worth it since a good porportion of kids would have to be relocated to fit the actual makeup of the districts. They think its best to focus on providing “equal resources” for all schools.
One of the two lead principals of Denver Green School Northfield the school, Kartal Jaquette thinks otherwise
“Kids are knowledgeable enough to know that people have differences, but they’re kids enough to know that we’re all learning instruments together, we’re all trying to get through the hall,” one of the two lead principals of the school, Kartal Jaquette said.
Integrating schools has been an issue in Denver at least since 1995 when busing ended. The move was a way to bring students from various backgrounds together, but white students could still avoid participating in “integration plans” by going to private schools or relocating to suburbs.
Now the school district is trying to use various tactics to build more diverse schools by giving bus passes to low-income students so they’ll able to travel across town, according to Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova.
READ MORE: Black student humiliated by classmates during lesson on desegregation
Jaquette said it took time to build the Green School to become more diverse. They even took the time to visit diverse families to convince them to re-enroll in the school. He said offering passes for busing in the zones helped increased diversity.
At the school, the staff influence kids of various ethnicities to “mingle” by holding events every week such as a lip-synch battle, according to Jaquette.
