They're all over the place here--twenty and thirty somethings making Richmond city their home, and bringing with them prositive change in the city's housing, social, and cultural arenas. But what can these young professionals and new families bring to the public education arena? Urban renewal trends in Richmond aren't so different from those of other metro areas, and people elsewhere are looking at how we can get the influx of new city blood to make its mark on city public schools. We should too.
Toledo, Ohio Blade took a recent look at how inner city schools could be influenced by the demographic changes of young people who want to live in the cities rather than the suburbs. The article's key points: 1) It's as simple as urban schools geting better when parents are involved, 2) positive perception is critical and 3) the differences between urban and suburban districts may not be as vast as we think. The takeaway for me after reading this is that public school systems like RPS must, must, must tap into the city baby boom.
Toledo, Richmond Comparison
That schools get better when parents are involved seems like common-sense to this former PTA leader, but many don't realize what a critical difference parent involvement can make in turning a school around. The schools my children attend/have attended, Mary Munford and Albert Hill, are perfect examples of the snowball effect of parents jumping into an environment that welcomes them: they're willing to spend time doing the activities that support the teachers, the teachers feel valued and supported with more time to teach, the learning environment improves, more people realize that the school offers a good learning environment, so perception becomes more favorable and more people are drawn to the school--and the cycle begins anew.
The Toledo reporter notes research showing that "a higher percentage of students who performed “above average” or “excellent” in school had parents who had attended a general school meeting or participated in fund-raising efforts." He also says "one way to make schools better is simply to have parents demanding better schools." According to one of his sources, "[Younger professionals] may slowly strengthen the inner-city schools much like their parents strengthened suburban schools, [and] the urban revival is not going to last without the schools getting better.”
I also concur with the article's assertion that differences may not be as pronounced between urban and suburban schools. Certainly, demographics and facilities are different here between the city and the counties, but in healthy city communities, issues like safety and teaching expertise may not be as varied from our county counterparts as we believe. According to the Blade: ”Various national statistics show some discrepancies in performance favoring suburban districts, but scant gaps in things like tobacco and alcohol use between the two areas suggest the perception of vast suburban superiority may not meet reality."
The Blade also says "a baby boom is happening right now in places such as Manhattan, Portland, Ore., Seattle, and Washington." It quotes a legislator who recognizes that trend as an impetus to focusing on schools. According to him, the city schools "should be given more attention." He notes the improvement the city schools have undergone but recognizes that many challenges lie ahead. I sure like the sound of a leader who recognizes the city's schools' improvements, realizes the challenges, and sees the need for increased attention to get them where they need to be.
That brings me to the key, final statement in the article: “Perception is absolutely critical. If people perceive something as good, they’ll go back." One of the most daunting challenges facing RPS in the next four years will be repairing the extensive PR damage done over the last four. Public perception about RPS lags way behind reality--there's much to be done but much has been done too and many of our schools have a great deal to offer and tremendous potential for more. Looks like we need to start by telling that story to the young city-dwelling professionals moving back into Richmond.
