Civil rights probe in response to East Lansing School Board decision

The East Lansing School District voted to close a k-4 elementary school and realign the remaining five elementary schools to include grades k-5 with the sixth grade moving to MacDonald Middle School.  The public comments at School Board meetings leading up to the decision were long and passionate.  A committee of residents was appointed by the School Board early on.  The committee debated the issue of how best to reorganize the District's elementary schools in light of diminishing revenues and outdated infrastructure.  The Board had an unprecedented number of public comment periods to discuss the committee's finding and come to a decision.  Despite the Board's vote it was apparent that no one wants their neighborhood school closed.


Unfortunately for many East Lansing residents their neighborhood school was not available for their children to attend.  Seven years earlier the Board decided to close an elementary school and change the existing elementary schools from six with k-5 grades to four with k- 4 and two with 5 and 6.  This action increased the amount of busing since those in neighborhoods where the school changed to grades five and six with younger children now needed to go to a k-4 elementary school two or more miles away.  For the past seven years the East Lansing School District has not supported neighborhood schools.  The adopted re-alignment and infrastructure will require a February 28, 2012 vote on a bond issue to fund the change.


A recent Lansing State Journal article, "Civil rights probe will not delay E. L. bond vote," reported that a federal civil rights complaint has been filed concerning the closing of the elementary school:


In a 4-3 vote taken Sept. 26, school board members voted to keep the district's five other elementary buildings open. The vote was seen by some as an attack on the diversity of Red Cedar, which regularly draws its student body from more than 50 nationalities. . . 


A portion of Red Cedar's 266 students are children of international families at Michigan State University, and the school celebrates its global perspective. The complaint alleges closing the school will discriminate against its students based on race, color or national origin.


The article further reported the following demographics:


Red Cedar is the only building with more minority students than white - 55 percent. Donley's is 45 percent, Pinecrest's 37 percent and Marble Elementary is about 22 percent. The district's fifth- and sixth-grade buildings, Glencairn and Whitehills, are both about 40 percent minority.


I was unaware of these demographics.  I knew that the school in my neighborhood, Glencairn, would be primarily white if it were not for the students being bused there from Red Cedar.  I was delighted when my son moved from fourth grade, at Marble, to fifth grade, at Glencairn, that his class went from having three or four children of color to nearly half of the class.  In first grade, my son was sent down to the office for using a pair of scissors incorrectly.  When I got to the school I asked him what he was doing with the scissors and he said, "I was cutting my hair so that it would be straight like the other boys."  Neither the white teacher or white principal had thought to ask him why he was cutting his hair.    Had Marble been more diverse perhaps this incident wouldn't have occurred - both the cutting of the hair as well as the teacher and principal not understanding the reason behind it.


I think it is important on a number of levels for all children to learn in a diversified setting.  Including diversity in social and economic backgrounds as well as racially and with regards to nationalities.  This includes being taught by a diverse faculty.  While my children have had African American principals, it wasn't until seventh grade that my son had a teacher of color.  For a successful society our children need to learn tolerance and how to celebrate the strengths of diverse backgrounds each individual brings with them.


I understand the feeling of many of the parents of Red Cedar students who chose school of choice so that their children could be enjoy the benefits of a diversified student body.  A number of these parents are white parents raising adopted children of color.  But, I also think it would be a disservice to the students who would attend Glencairn when it returns to grades K-5 to learn in a mostly white environment.  Eventually, all students end up at the District's one middle school which has forty percent diversity.


In addition to learning in a diverse student body I find it important to have elementary schools that are walkable and bikable.  When we moved to our East Lansing neighborhood we did so assuming that we would walk our children to school.  Getting to school by means without a motor provides opportunity for students to exercise, to establish a conservation ethic, to enjoy some time with friends and parents who can take the time to walk with their children. and to breath fresh air before being sequestered to their classrooms.  


At the time I didn't realize that we could chose to send our children to other elementary schools in district.  Assuming equal education by faculty throughout the district, we sent our children to their designated school.  Perhaps we missed out on an opportunity by not choosing to send our children to Red Cedar.  We felt that the faculty at both Marble and Glencairn have been outstanding for the most part and have had  three wonderful principals between the schools.  


My hope is that the unique attributes of celebrating diversity inherent at Red Cedar are transferred with the students and staff to Glencairn so that  students who may not be afforded the opportunity until middle school can also benefit from them.  I suppose that an argument can be made that insular environment created at Red Cedar can not be transferred and that when the school closes the attributes end too.  The students would go from a school where fifty-five percent of the student body is of color to one where the student body is only forty percent of color.  The minority would in fact be back to being the minority.  Is this enough to loose the unique identity that parents enjoy by sending their children to Red Cedar?  Could Glencairn become the new school of choice for those seeking these attributes and thereby increase its minority demographic to become majority?


Glencairn has always had a "Taste of Glencairn" community dinner, where students and their parents bring a dish that celebrates their family.  While I didn't attend the dinners prior to the school changing to a fifth and sixth grade school and increasing its students of color,  I can only conjecture that the meals at the dinner became a little spicier, tastier and a touch more soulful with the new additions.