145 White 64.1%
28 African American (9 are multi-racial but not coded) 12.3%
13 Latino 5.7%
12 Filipino 5.3%
25 Asian 10.8%
3 Japanese 1.3%
6 Korean 2.6%
12 Chinese 5.3%
1 Other Asian 0.4%
1 Cambodian 0.4%
1 Asian Indian 0.4%
1 Vietnamese 0.4%
1 Samoan 0.4%
2 American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.8%
Blogging Bayport Alameda 
Has anyone proposed that certain ethnic groups are less responsive to non-traditional learning enviroments (i.e. are not interested) and thus some #’s do not mirror the district?
Comment by poguemahone — January 16, 2008 @ 1:17 am
On the subject of diversity and demographics, has anyone taken a closer look at diversity at a high school?
The diversity that everyone likes to tout takes place on the school enrollment roster but does it take place elsewhere?
Look inside classrooms and see if the demographics of the school population match the demographics observed in a given classroom.
Check out the AP Calculus class, the AP English class, the math lab, the AP World History class, the AP Statistics class, Algebra I, CP American history, etc.
Perform a chi-square test to see if there is a difference between the observed and expected values.
Then get back to me.
Which is more important, that the hallways reflect the demographics of the enrolled population or that the classroom reflect the demographics of school’s population.
ACLC may be the district’s favorite whipping boy but check out the demographics of classrooms, not campuses, and then judge ACLC.
Comment by Jeffrey R Smith — June 5, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
Well Jeff, Any ideas on why that is so?
Are you saying our high school, at least the one you teach at, has classes aligned as “separate, but equal”? Is it by AUSD design, such as separate classes or rooms, (I bet not),
Or ‘sheltered classes’ (classes designed to help acclimate students new to the USA, which helps kids new to the English language and also helps to keep the NCLB pace of non-sheltered classes. (Is this the sole use of the “sheltered curriculum” or it is also used for placing lower achievement students?),
Or is it by the registration choices of students,
Or is it that some sectors of the ‘demographics’ are more often out of class? (Would this also be the “lower achievement” sectors of AUSD’s demographics?)
Or are there other reasons?
Or is it simply because school officials allow it? I guess this has to be one of the reasons, doesn’t it? But I made the (perhaps wrong) assumption you were pointing this out to throw some light on a dark secret of the District. Maybe some of what you state really is not ‘bad’, please provide more detail, because I am interested, and I don’t want to make erroneous conclusions.
Or are you just pointing out what most already know about the “achievement gap”?
If so, can you make any comments about a solution?
The “achievement gap” has been explained that despite the great diversity, it is Blacks and Hispanics that continue to ‘under achieve’. Certainly I expect most AUSD Blacks and Hispanics do fine – average or better, but the rate of ‘underachievers is higher state wide for these groups and that holds true in AUSD, correct?
I would appreciate hearing opinions of teachers on why this continues. Some say our schools fail these groups; but is it more often related to:
Family economics,
Alcohol and pot, or drug use,
Is it “too cool for school”? – Gangs, peer pressure, etc?
Is it that AUSD staff is unable to follow up on truancy?
Do school safety or security officers enforce “clear hallways” during class periods less equally than they should, thus allowing some students to ‘wander’?
Is it that some students have ‘learned’ they are not cut out for the school options they have? As a maintenance worker myself, I am a big supporter of a properly run ROP program. I think taking the shop and building technology classes out of high school was one of the worst curriculum decisions ever made. Perhaps trade union apprenticeships should be a legal alternative to high school. Perhaps it is and I am just ignorant of the facts.
Again, please inform.
Thanks.
Comment by David Kirwin — June 5, 2008 @ 10:27 pm
Of course I would love to hear student opinions of the above post as well.
Comment by DK — June 5, 2008 @ 10:31 pm
Student opinion # 1
If the chi-square observation extends through the schoolhouse door into the various classrooms and invalidates the advertised school demographic diversity enrollment, so what? Why stop at the classroom? Why should diversity of input become a homogenous output? If that’s the goal, let’s figure out how to airbrush the kids’ external surfaces and replace their internal soft-drives in order to appropriate the desired output. That should get us the desired balance of blandness which will assuage our overworked consciences.
Comment by Jack Richard — June 6, 2008 @ 9:24 am
Jack – I don’t think Mr Smith was advocating that schools provide the homogeneous output of 1-titted, 1-balled graduates. He may have been pointing out a real deal where a lot of diversity goes in and comes out, but those that received a higher quality education is a group that lacks diversity.
I don’t know, but maybe that is his point.
Still, my response is not that different than yours. “It is AUSD obligation to provide a quality education”, which I think it does. It is the student’s responsibility to take it. That is the choice of the student, and I believe they have a right to free choice. Like a horse to water they can be led, coaxed, cajoled, but you can’t force an education. The student has to want to learn to achieve. For some reason some do not accept the gift of a quality education. They may have other ideas for their lives.
“Would you like cheese with that?”
Are there any AUSD teachers or students with ideas for this thread?
Comment by David Kirwin — June 6, 2008 @ 8:38 pm
So Jeffrey R Smith … are you saying that we should dumb down the classes to include those demographics? Forced diversity is overrated.
Comment by Alameda Parent — June 13, 2008 @ 7:51 pm
Brian:
Excellent point, Brian. Just as in the Jim Crow South, the segregation of ACLC is enforced lynchings, water cannons, church bombings, etc. Little known fact: George Wallace is in charge of admissions at ACLC; Bull Connor is principal.
Comment by dave — June 24, 2008 @ 10:33 am
As I re-read this thread, it seems Jeffrey Smith was talking about AUSD in general, focusing on high schools, probably specifically Encinal High where he teaches, not ACLC.
The issue is that desegregation and the diversity in the schools has not closed the “achievement gap”. No one is trying to push segregation except you to flame the thread.
Do you have any useful ideas to resolve the issue Mr. Smith brought up about AUSD?
Comment by David Kirwin — June 24, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
There needs to be a strong student and parent outreach program. As an AHS teacher, I can state that the teachers’ efforts often do not yield results. Teaching is happening, but often, learning is not. Some parents need help with setting up an education-friendly home- many students need that as well.
Mr. Kirwin states several ideas and a solution that would help the current situation. Schools need quality, viable alternatives to the idea that college is everything. Let us create meaningful partnerships with trade unions to find able apprentices. We should help students to find their own pathways, while still giving them high quality instruction to help them become knowledgeable citizens.
Comment by SFB — February 15, 2011 @ 6:08 am