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05/13/2005: "Vintage School District"

I had my first “vintage” school district experience today. I’d been told that I needed to talk to one specific person in staffing as I was now “restored” and something had to be done in order for me to begin the site selection process.

But…this person was not at their desk all morning. Then, they were at lunch. Then, they were on the other line. I knew that leaving a message at 3:00 on a Friday was a waste of paper, but I did it, and of course, they didn’t call me back. I have a lot of sympathy for my wife on Friday- she’s been dealing with one hundred children all week, none of whom were hers. Administrative folks ought to be readily available, whether it’s Monday at 9:00 AM or Friday at 4:45.

I’m also getting a little concerned about whether there will actually be schools available. Two of the magnet schools- Central and Bodine- list site selection vacancies, but these openings are categorized as AAO: African American only. Doesn’t this seem counter to the whole site selection process- schools can pick who works there but only if they are the correct race. I wonder- does this mean African American only- or could any person of color apply? What are the legal mechanisms that allow for this sort of ‘positive’ discrimination? After many years of nonsense- look at the racial composition of most magnet schools- is site selection a viable way of overcoming poor racial balances?

If there are no magnet schools, I may be at home, watching my son get bigger and bigger.