Research Studies Supporting the Need for this Work

Hi Friends,

We have some small group meetings coming up. These meetings are set up for open chats about anything the attendees want to discuss. If you prefer to meet up with me one-on-one, let me know and we’ll get something set up. I have found that verbal, in-person conversations often help us face our biases and assumptions in a way that leads to acceptance and empowerment rather than denial or depression.

I had a few additional resources to share about the gifted program information I shared last week:
(1) “Students in Poverty Less Likely to be Identified as Gifted” by Kenneth Best in UConn Today.
(2) “Is There a Gifted Gap?” by Christopher Yaluma and Adam Tyner in Fordham Institute report.
(3) “Is My Child Gifted?” by Adrienne Wichard-Edds in Arlington Magazine.

You also might have seen an article in the Washington Post this week regarding a report from the Equality of Opportunity Project that stated that white and black children (boys in particular) raised in the same neighborhoods and the same family incomes still end up with significant disparities in their incomes as adults. The work to change our culture, to embrace the truth of systemic racism and discrimination, is what can start to address these awful truths. The perceived threat from black men has driven many of our social problems and the conversations we have with those around us about these issues matters.

One of our members pointed out the cover story in The Washington Post Magazine, “Sharing the Wealth” by Kitson Jazynka about parents raising money for public schools.

I also heard about the death of Arnold Hirsch, an urban historian who wrote about urban segregation in Chicago, housing segregation, and other systemic racism issues. His most popular book “Making the Second Ghetto” may be worth a read.

I came across an article about some research conducted by the Anna E. Casey Foundation (“Disparities Persist for Children of Color, Immigrant Children” in Philanthropy News Digest) and followed up on the Foundation to see what other work they do on these issues. I am so excited about the resources they have been creating since 2006 and before! Check out their Equity and Inclusion work, and the related Race Matters Institute.

I also had the opportunity to read Sonya Douglass Horsford’s 2011 book Learning in a Burning House: Educational Inequality, Ideology, and (Dis)Integration, which is a wonderfully researched resource that includes perspectives of Black superintendents from around the country who also experienced segregated schools in their childhoods. A few highlights: (1) the important difference between desegregation and integration; (2) the failure of desegregation to equitably distribute resources to all schools for all children; (3) the distraction from discussing the realities of race and racism, which are replaced with terms like diversity and inclusion, which avoid meaningful dialogue and change; and, (4) the devastating impact of desegregation on Black educators and Black communities. I really recommend it (and it’s only 107 pages)!

Keep engaging!