Missouri begins most draconian forced busing program ever On July 11, 2013 the Francis Howell Central High gymnasium in Cottleville, Missouri was packed to the gills with upset parents. Boos from the rafters and clamors of protest rang throughout the audience. This was no ordinary parent teacher conference. Just one month before the news had been released that the Missouri Supreme Court had decided that children living in an unaccredited school district may transfer to an accredited school in the same or adjoining county. Normandy School district was the unaccredited school and Francis Howell had been chosen as one of those schools to admit these students. Normandy School district is located in the towns of Normandy and Wellston in North St. Louis County and has been a failing, crime ridden school for many years. When founded in 1923 by a group of educators the dream was to make the ideal high school. This group of educators goal was achieved, though short lived, and Normandy High was considered a “lighthouse” school with its programs discussed in The American Journal of Education and on panels at The University of Chicago. To understand how such a prestigious high performing school had sunk to becoming an unaccredited one must only look at the students who go there. In 1923 Normandy was 100% white yet by 2013, 98% of the 4,200 students were black. Francis Howell school district is made up of three high schools and 15 elementary and middle schools and is located in St. Charles County, Missouri. The first high school, Francis Howell High School, was founded in 1881 while the latter two high schools, Francis Howell North and Francis Howell Central, were established in 1986 and 1997 due to the large population increase in St. Charles County. This population boom is due in large part to white citizens of St. Louis County fleeing across the Missouri river to escape crime and violence and is commonly referred to as the “white flight”. In stark contrast to Normandy schools, Francis Howell has 17,000 students of which 86% are white. It is no surprise that the parents of one of the largest school districts in St. Charles County became upset when told that they were being forced to accept students from one of the worst schools in the metropolitan area. These same parents had uprooted their lives to move away from the ever darkening counties of St. Louis to make a new life for themselves in a safer area, and they had finally attained what they were looking for. St. Charles County is not only the third largest county in all of Missouri but is also the wealthiest. The county is also recognized as being extremely conservative and is ranked as one of the top 100 conservative counties in the United States. To compare heavily liberal St. Louis to heavily conservative St. Charles is like comparing apples to oranges. Not only will Normandy students be transferred to the Francis Howell high schools but transfers will also be placed in the elementary and middle schools. As one mother stated at the town hall meeting “We’re not talking about the Normandy School District losing its accreditation because of their buildings, structures or their teachers. We are talking about violent behavior that is coming in with my first grader, my third grader and my middle schooler.” Among those protesting the transfer, Francis Howell superintendent Dr. Pam Sloan was in full agreement with the distressed parents. “I feel compelled to go on record to state I do not believe the best way to improve a failing school system is to send some students to an accredited system,” said Dr. Sloan. 30 August 2013 15:29
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 05:25:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015