The overwhelming whiteness of US private schools

[jeaniebueller]

.

www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/03/29/the-overwhelming-whiteness-of-u-s-private-schools-in-six-maps-and-charts/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_privateschools-715am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Students in the nation’s private schools are disproportionately — and in some states overwhelmingly — white.

While that’s not entirely surprising, a new analysis from the Southern Education Foundation quantifies the continued segregation of white students in private schools, particularly in the South, where private-school enrollment jumped in the 1950s and 1960s as white families sought to avoid attending integrated public schools.

Here’s a snapshot of the study’s findings:

1. Private schools are whiter than the overall school-age population in most states, particularly in the South and the West.

This map shows the gap between the percentage of all school-aged children who are white vs. the percentage of private-school students who are white. The biggest gap is in Mississippi, where in 2012, white students comprised 51 percent of all school-aged students but 87 percent of private-school students — a gap of 36 percentage points. The average national gap that year was about 15 percentage points.

[Fuqua School looks to African American football star to shatter racist legacy]

2. Black, Latino and Native American students are underrepresented in private schools, also particularly in the South and West.

3. Private schools are more likely than public schools to be virtually all-white, defined as a school where 90 percent or more of students are white. Forty-three percent of the nation’s private school students attended virtually all-white schools, compared to 27 percent of public-school students

The author of the analysis also puts forth a provocative argument: Because of this historical pattern, private schools that take public money (via vouchers and voucher-like programs) should not be able to select the students they admit. Instead, those schools should have to admit anyone who applies, just like public schools do, said Steve Suitts, who wrote the study as a senior fellow at the Southern Education Foundation.

“The public-school system is built on the bedrock notion that we want each child to have a chance for a good education,” said Suitts, now an adjunct professor at Emory University. “And if private schools do not wish to advance that national purpose, then they ought not receive public funding.”
That argument does not make much sense to people who believe that voucher programs are a way to help low-income and minority students attend private schools they otherwise could not afford.

Greg Forster, a senior fellow at the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, said it’s not surprising that white students are more likely to attend private schools because the nation’s white families have higher incomes than other families, on average.

“Private schools generally want to serve as many students as possible, but they can only serve those who are able to pay,” Forster said. “School choice levels the playing field by helping those with lower incomes have access to the choices that others now have and even take for granted. It is not a scandal that those who are able to access better schools choose to do so; it is a scandal that because of the government school monopoly, only some are able to access better schools.”

[Quality controls lacking for DC schools accepting federal vouchers]

Forster pointed to Milwaukee — which has had a voucher program since 1990 — as evidence that vouchers can help increase minorities’ enrollment in private schools. In 1994, when racial data were first tracked, 75 percent of the city’s private-school students were white, he said; by 2008, the white share of private-school students had dropped to 35 percent.

Suitts said economics are part of the pattern, but not all or even most of it. The number of black, Latino and Native American students enrolled in private schools is far lower than the number of minority families that could afford it, he said. He said he didn’t know of instances in which private schools rejected qualified minority students — but the enrollment patterns signify a problem.

“The fact is that, over the years, African American families and non-white families have come to understand that these private schools are not schools that are open to them, especially in light of their traditional role and history related to desegregation of public schools,” he said.
The report recalls how private-school enrollment grew a half-century ago as courts were ordering public schools to integrate. The pattern was particularly pronounced in the South, where massive resistance to integration led to rapid private-school enrollment growth. Even as private-school enrollment has fallen across much of the country in recent decades, it has continued to grow in the South.

Over time, private schools in the South have accounted for a growing proportion of private-school enrollment nationwide.

And private schools in the South have a greater over-representation of white students than other regions.

Liz King, director of education policy for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said that the historical context is important because it shows how “private education can play a role in undermining civil-rights efforts.”

If taxpayers are going to support private schools, she said, then those private schools should be subject to additional scrutiny and to the same civil-rights oversight and enforcement as public schools.

Forster, of the Friedman Foundation, doesn’t see the need for additional oversight or for a new requirement that private schools accepting public dollars accept every child who applies.

“It prevents schools from matching the right student to the right school,” he said. “Just as parents should have the right to say to schools, ‘You’re not the right fit for my child, I’m going to find another school,’ schools should also have the right to say to parents, ‘We’re not the right fit for your child.'”

He said that multiple studies have shown that choice programs result in students moving from more-segregated to less-segregated schools.

Forster also challenged Suitts’s methods for analyzing segregation in private vs. public schools. It can be misleading to compare enrollment patterns on a state level because that misses important nuances between individual schools and between different parts of a state, he said.

And he said that Suitts did not attempt to capture the segregation of students of color within either school sector, leaving out an important part of the picture of race and enrollment patterns.
“These are obviously not measurements of segregation, they are measurements of the presence of white students, which is not the same thing,” Forster said.

[cookiemdough]

Is any of this a surprise?

[eponinepontmercy]

This is my main issue with keeping DD in Catholic school. But, the thought of maneuvering our public school system makes me want to drink heavily. Our feeder school isn't that great, and we could choice into another district but which one and should she try for the gifted program and on and on until I'm shaking in the corner.

DH's uncle is the principal at her school, and has also expressed frustration that the school is so white. He insinuated that other families would leave if he made a push to change that.

[ttt]

Mar 29, 2016 7:54:32 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Is any of this a surprise?

The part that sort of surprises me is that it's not about economics. I had assumed it was primarily because of high costs and I would like to know more about the other reasons minority students are not enrolling.

[cookiemdough]

Mar 29, 2016 8:01:08 GMT -5 ttt said:

Mar 29, 2016 7:54:32 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Is any of this a surprise?

The part that sort of surprises me is that it's not about economics. I had assumed it was primarily because of high costs and I would like to know more about the other reasons minority students are not enrolling.

I can only speak for myself, but as fearful as I am about poor education, I am also fearful of my child being the only in an environment that may be tone deaf to racial issues. Once you enter into private school the number of classes per grade are limited. So if you have a concern with a teacher or a student advocating options for your child is hard. Mix in limited teachers who look like him, there is a higher likelihood that there will be less tolerance for my child. Just look at stats for punishment in public schools. I have no reason to believe it will be different in privates. I actually know quite a few people who send their kids to privates and elite privates with limited minorities. I think their children are doing well but they spent a lot of time advocating for their children in the beginning and also have to spend a lot of time doing things in and for the school to build up a reputation to combat some of the initial biases that they are confronted with.

[cookiemdough]

That being said not all Privates are the same and I think a minority child can thrive, but it is difficult to embrace the awesome education and not also consider some of he drawbacks

[ttt]

Mar 29, 2016 8:19:45 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Mar 29, 2016 8:01:08 GMT -5 ttt said:

The part that sort of surprises me is that it's not about economics. I had assumed it was primarily because of high costs and I would like to know more about the other reasons minority students are not enrolling.

I can only speak for myself, but as fearful as I am about poor education, I am also fearful of my child being the only in an environment that may be tone deaf to racial issues. Once you enter into private school the number of classes per grade are limited. So if you have a concern with a teacher or a student advocating options for your child is hard. Mix in limited teachers who look like him, there is a higher likelihood that there will be less tolerance for my child. Just look at stats for punishment in public schools. I have no reason to believe it will be different in privates. I actually know quite a few people who send their kids to privates and elite privates with limited minorities. I think their children are doing well but they spent a lot of time advocating for their children in the beginning and also have to spend a lot of time doing things in and for the school to build up a reputation to combat some of the initial biases that they are confronted with.

Thanks for sharing this perspective - it makes a lot of sense. 

[mrsukyankee]

Not shocked in the least, says the person who went to private school and then worked at four of them.

[kershnic]

I think it's interesting that private schools are equated with better schools. I know that's the case in many places, but where I grew up (at least when I grew up, but my impression is that it's still the same) public education was good and there were several mediocre religious private schools and a few very expensive elite private schools. Smart, ambitious kids had far more options at the public schools than at the majority of the private schools. However, I grew up in the white suburbs of a very very white state (Minnesota) so that doesn't speak much to the racial disparities.

Even after reading this article I continue to believe that economics are the driving force behind these racial disparities, although it's valuable to consider the other factors that also seem to be in play. I really don't know what the take home action message is though... as someone in the article mentions, taking away public vouchers is really only going to make private schools less diverse, not more diverse. Sure, it might limit public funds going to segregated schools, but it gets rid of a path to desegregate those schools.

[frlcb]

We are at a private school in the South and when my son was in pre-k (he is now in 2nd) my dad came with me to do something at the school and he turned to me and said 'is every kid in his class blonde?', and it was true. My daughter is now in pre-k at the same school and in her class of 12 kids 50% of them are not white. It makes me so happy because the lack of diversity was the only drawback we had to the school, and I am glad to see the tide is shifting. I hope it continues.

[tres3]

My private high school was a lot more diverse than my public school.

That said, now that I'm in the south. There are a lot of "Christian" schools that are fairly inexpensive (tuition under 10k) that appeal to those who want to "shelter" their kids.

I think the elite prep schools with endowments are more likely to be fairly diverse (but still under representative) as they can recruit the best and make social and racial diversity part of the admission goals.

[chedifuen]

Not shocking but still disgusting. I would suspect charter schools in some areas are very similar. I know in my district, the charter schools are far less diverse than the public non-charter schools, even when they share a building. It's the number one reason we opted to go with our districted school, rather than enter the charter lottery system.

[ttt]

Not wanting your child to be the "only" is certainly understandable. It seems like such a self-perpetuating problem, though - I wonder how private schools can improve and attract more minority children. And I think by minority children, we're mostly talking about black and possibly Hispanic children - I don't see this being so much of a problem with, for example, Asian children. IME, Montessori schools tend to have heavily Asian (especially Indian) enrollment, often equal to the white enrollment. I know that isn't necessarily the case everywhere or in most private schools, of course.

To the mothers of such kids on here - what would make a school feel more welcoming to your children if it wanted to increase minority enrollment? 

[05heel]

I'm willing to sacrifice many things, including the "quality" of my child's education to ensure she's not the only (or one of a small handful of) black kids in her class. There's just no way I'll ever let that happen. It's so damaging. I agree with the poster above who mentioned inexpensive private schools in the south that seem to have been designed to shelter the kids whose parents can't handle the thought of a school where <50% of the children are white. These are my coworkers who gasp in horror when I mention which school my daughter will attend, and who recommend their small private school that is SO DIVERSE!! Sorry, five Asian children, a black kid, and a few kids with European parents is not my idea of diversity. Oh, and they're all from upper-middle class households. What a melting pot.

And I know that public schools are woefully underfunded, but I don't get the appeal of these schools where the parents basically have to volunteer full time and spend lots of their own money to keep the place running. Lunch duty, catering, school supplies, transportation coordination, extracurricular activities...these are all arranged by the parents. Then even with all that control, they still complain about the poor harassed teachers and principals who won't do exactly what they say. I'm left wondering what's so awesome about basically working at a school, while paying for what is apparently a less than top-notch educational experience. Put some of that time, energy, and money into your public schools! Especially since you fought so hard to have the "neighborhood" schools that are supposedly so precious and vital. Now I'm wondering what you REALLY meant when you said you moved to your suburb "for the schools".

[irishbride2]

We have this problem, and diversity is our NUMBER 1 issue we are working to address. It is hard, though. We have diversity in a lot of other ways that the public schools here do not (religion being the main one) but race is a struggle. We are losing a fabulous 8th grader next year because, although she had a great experience, she is just tired of being one of the only people of color in her grade. I understand completely why she is leaving but it makes me sad. The 8th grade this year, for whatever reason, is very very white. 

We do heavy recruiting of students and faculty of color and we have a consultant who works with us regularly on how to handle issues regarding diversity (We are meeting today, actually). But its a long road.

For example, the closest public high school is 60% white. We are about 80%.

But our local high school is about 90% Christian (that one is my estimate, I don't have those stats in front of me). Ours is about 50%.

We have a long way to go in terms of race, however.

[sfy]

Mar 29, 2016 8:30:38 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

That being said not all Privates are the same and I think a minority child can thrive, but it is difficult to embrace the awesome education and not also consider some of he drawbacks

My friend's cousin teaches at one of the best prep schools in Boston.  I don't remember if her son can go for free or just close to it, but whatever the case, it's the kind of thing most people would have trouble turning down.  They have decided not to send him there because they are concerned about how he will be affected in that environment.  She may revisit it after elementary school, but for now, they have decided that his sense of self has to take priority over the excellent education.  Coincidentally, a friend's FI went to the same school (graduated close to 20 years ago) and he was telling us that the education and the connections he made opened doors for him that he will forever benefit from, but he isn't sure what he would do in the same situation. My husband went to prep school only for high school and he sees the pros and cons of sending a AA child later, but anyway, many people weighed in on it and opting out is what they decided would be best.

Have you guys ever watched American Promise or The Prep School Negro?

[05heel]

Mar 29, 2016 10:36:15 GMT -5 ttt said:

Not wanting your child to be the "only" is certainly understandable. It seems like such a self-perpetuating problem, though - I wonder how private schools can improve and attract more minority children. And I think by minority children, we're mostly talking about black and possibly Hispanic children - I don't see this being so much of a problem with, for example, Asian children. IME, Montessori schools tend to have heavily Asian (especially Indian) enrollment, often equal to the white enrollment. I know that isn't necessarily the case everywhere or in most private schools, of course.

To the mothers of such kids on here - what would make a school feel more welcoming to your children if it wanted to increase minority enrollment? 

I can only speak for myself, but I want nothing to do with a private school that is looking to increase minority enrollment.  I recognize that this is a privilege, because I have the ability and resources to move to any place where the public school meets my diversity criteria.   I would not be comfortable with a school that doesn't have a longstanding history of diversity and inclusion, because no matter how hard leadership may try to make changes, there will be parents who push back and vocally oppose their efforts.  Then I'll be in jail.  All bad. 

But to answer the question, the only way I'd choose such a school is if it was founded with the express purpose of providing black kids with the highest quality education, regardless of income.  I'd need a certain ratio of black teachers and administrators, equal representation of blacks and Hispanics on the board of directors, etc.  People who would advocate for my child at every level.

[tres3]

Even if schools don't take vouchers they are benefiting since most are non-profits, don't pay property taxes and accept tax deductible contributions.

[irishbride2]

Mar 29, 2016 10:54:23 GMT -5 05heel said:

Mar 29, 2016 10:36:15 GMT -5 ttt said:

Not wanting your child to be the "only" is certainly understandable. It seems like such a self-perpetuating problem, though - I wonder how private schools can improve and attract more minority children. And I think by minority children, we're mostly talking about black and possibly Hispanic children - I don't see this being so much of a problem with, for example, Asian children. IME, Montessori schools tend to have heavily Asian (especially Indian) enrollment, often equal to the white enrollment. I know that isn't necessarily the case everywhere or in most private schools, of course.

To the mothers of such kids on here - what would make a school feel more welcoming to your children if it wanted to increase minority enrollment? 

I can only speak for myself, but I want nothing to do with a private school that is looking to increase minority enrollment.  I recognize that this is a privilege, because I have the ability and resources to move to any place where the public school meets my diversity criteria.   I would not be comfortable with a school that doesn't have a longstanding history of diversity and inclusion, because no matter how hard leadership may try to make changes, there will be parents who push back and vocally oppose their efforts.  Then I'll be in jail.  All bad. 

But to answer the question, the only way I'd choose such a school is if it was founded with the express purpose of providing black kids with the highest quality education, regardless of income.  I'd need a certain ratio of black teachers and administrators, equal representation of blacks and Hispanics on the board of directors, etc.  People who would advocate for my child at every level.

I will say that even though our school is looking to increase diversity, the bolded is not the issue. Our lack of diversity is not due to attitude of students or parents. It's more a history of local demographics and finances. That is changing in our city and is changing in our school as well. 

[05heel]

Mar 29, 2016 11:11:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Mar 29, 2016 10:54:23 GMT -5 05heel said:

I can only speak for myself, but I want nothing to do with a private school that is looking to increase minority enrollment.  I recognize that this is a privilege, because I have the ability and resources to move to any place where the public school meets my diversity criteria.   I would not be comfortable with a school that doesn't have a longstanding history of diversity and inclusion, because no matter how hard leadership may try to make changes, there will be parents who push back and vocally oppose their efforts.  Then I'll be in jail.  All bad. 

But to answer the question, the only way I'd choose such a school is if it was founded with the express purpose of providing black kids with the highest quality education, regardless of income.  I'd need a certain ratio of black teachers and administrators, equal representation of blacks and Hispanics on the board of directors, etc.  People who would advocate for my child at every level.

I will say that even though our school is looking to increase diversity, the bolded is not the issue. Our lack of diversity is not due to attitude of students or parents. It's more a history of local demographics and finances. That is changing in our city and is changing in our school as well. 

That is very heartening to hear!  I still wouldn't want my kid to be the guinea pig, but I'll take you at your word here. 

But maybe I shouldn't have used the word vocally, because the cynic in me still thinks that the tide of black and Hispanic children rolling in will be met with some dissatisfaction.  Or fears and concerns, as polite people like to call it. 

[tres3]

Mar 29, 2016 11:13:28 GMT -5 @choco said:

FWIW, I am SHOCKED that the programs that are prevalent in the northeast are nowhere to be found here in the south. DH and SIL paid full tuition by BIL and many of my friends got free rides via the A Better Chance program or something similar (that is for NYC kids). 

We went to similar schools  

My  high school had a decent number of girls that came through A Better Chance. I also really liked that my high school had 40% of the student body on financial aid and that could mean anything from a $1k grant to a full-ride but because it was spread out it did create economic diversity and there was no stigma to being on Financial aid like some other schools that may only be 15% financial aid but everyone on financial aid is getting close to full-tuition. 

[mrshandy]

Not surprising at all.

I went to private Catholic schools in the Hampton Roads area for 12 years and we definitely didn't have a lot of black or hispanic kids. Out of our graduating class of 115, there were maybe like 5 (a few were biracial). There were more Asian (mostly Filipino) like 15 or so. To get in you had to take an aptitude test and it was a pretty hard school so we started out with a much larger Freshman class and dwindled down over the 4 years.

In our neighborhood in NOVA, I feel like a lot of people send their kids to private schools to avoid the diversity in our local public school (test scores aren't that great either). DS is in the minority (10% white, 67% Hispanic, 18% Asian).

[mbcdefg]

I briefly worked in a Catholic boys' school. I was taking a photo for the website and asked a handful of random kids in the hallway to pose for a publicity photo. One was white and the others were black, Indian, and Hispanic. The picture was cute - they were modeling clothing items sold in the school store.

I posted it on the website, and later in the day my manager pulled me aside and said that next time I need to include all, or mostly, white kids in the photo. Otherwise their alumni wouldn't donate anymore if they thought the school was getting too "urban." 

I'm so disappointed in myself that I didn't say something. I was young and scared of losing my job (and I wound up getting fired a few weeks later anyway). 

[Michelle]

That is exactly what happened at my HS. Was majority White when I started freshman year. Was majority Black when I graduated. White flight to the area private schools or people just moved.

[threejs]

My third grader attends an "elite" prep school. She's been there since first grade. It's very small - there are only 9 kids in her class, two of them are black girls. I am always worried about her being an only. Her school is actually fairly diverse in terms of the student population and the board of directors. But everywhere else, parents, faculty, PTA -- all mostly white. My daughter's experience has been a LOT better than mine. She adores the school, her teachers, and her friends. So far, she's been very well loved and nurtured there. But I'm not sure this will continue as she gets older. I'm fully prepared to end up in jail for burning the place down the first time someone goes left on my child in a racially motivated way. I actually expect this to happen.

All that to say that I absolutely get why other black families choose not to go the private school route. Especially prep schools. I grew up being one of only a handful of blacks in school.

[sushi]

I'd like to see the stats as compared to the state populations. I'd expect 90% white in a state like Maine. It's representative of how white the state is. 90% in a place like Atlanta is an entirely different situation.

Where I'm from, the public school I was zoned for was about 65% black (and was regularly a D or F school). That's not representative of the state, or even our county, but it was very much representative of SES. My private school was more diverse in terms of religion that pretty much any school in the area. Also more diverse in the number of races and ethnic backgrounds. We had many 1st generation Americans from all over the world.

Even in the public school where my best friend was enrolled, she was in the nearly entirely white IB program while the regular students were nearly entirely black. But that split allowed the school to go from an F 2 years in a row (which allows students to enroll elsewhere) to C. And it made their racial split look more even.

[eclaires]

I went to private Catholic schools k-12 and the racial and religious diversity was pretty minimal. Socioecomic diversity was pretty high, though, which I do think was a benefit. MH went to all public schools in a suburb, and his classmates were basically all white and at least upper middle class. The kids' school is more diverse than both of our experiences and I prefer it.

I thought I would miss having my kids in Catholic school because that was a huge part of my life and I had a wonderful experience. But I really haven't. I volunteer a lot at their current school and I'm glad I'm able to. I think where they are is a better place for them, even though there's a very pricey local non-religious option that is a really good school. A friend of my son's went there and they recently switched him to the public school to get him out of the bubble. He's biracial but I don't know the diversity breakdown at the school. I got the impression their concern was the lack of socioeconomic diversity but it was a pretty superficial conversation when his mom told me. So there may have been more to it.

[andwhat]

Mar 29, 2016 11:13:28 GMT -5 @choco said:

 

Anyway, after touring a more diverse elementary school nearby and speaking with the volunteers in the PTO, we feel far more comfortable sending him to that public school vs our current zoned school or the Catholic school. We want to establish a strong, independent, confident young man at the elementary level and that means keeping him in a diverse environment at school. My mother in law is a former public school principal and even created curriculum at the state level, so she will help us navigate the system and assess appropriately. We will eventually send the kids to private school and expect to face a new set of situations at that point. DH and I both went to prep schools in the northeast so we are very familiar with that environment. However, the good experiences we gained in prep school far outweigh the bad and think it's still worth sending our boys there, or the equivalent of it in our city if they don't want to board.

FWIW, I am SHOCKED that the programs that are prevalent in the northeast are nowhere to be found here in the south. DH and SIL paid full tuition by BIL and many of my friends got free rides via the A Better Chance program or something similar (that is for NYC kids). 

But is it easy to ensure that he gets into that preferred public school. Because honestly that is the reason we did not move out of state for our next house purchase. Yes, there are excellent public schools, but we could not ensure that DD would get into them (lottery). It seemed like too much of a risk.

************************************

Now I went to private religious school my entire life. One was bilingual. But they were all very diverse. Black/Asian/Hispanic/White. White may have even been a minority in one of the schools. And the education I received was exceptional. I don't know if my parents considered the diversity of the schools when the selected them or if they were just looking for the best education. But I find that where I live, even the private schools are 100%, or very close to it, black/minority. Until you get to the elite private schools and then it changes. But while I don't want DD to be an only, I also don't want her to go to a school that is 100% black.

[sfy]

Mar 29, 2016 11:13:28 GMT -5 @choco said:

I mentioned this on MMM but we faced a situation with DS1 recently that had us re-think even the local Catholic school we applied to. My older son came home crying a few weeks ago when one of his friends at school pointed out that he was black. From the context I could get from a 4 year old, it seems like they were talking about basketball (the friend LOVES basketball and watches a ton with his dad) and somehow this led to the friend stating my son is black. It did not seem malicious, just an observation. However, my son was sad and said he wanted to be white like everyone else at school and at hockey because he didn't like being the only black kid in class. For him, being the only one was a jarring feeling when someone else pointed it out. Until then, my son was never ever bothered by this. I felt awful for him but I know it is very normal to want to belong. He is definitely surrounded by people of different races and cultures, just not at school and at hockey. Thankfully, DS1 was over this by the next morning but I know this won't be the last time we will deal with it.
 
Anyway, after touring a more diverse elementary school nearby and speaking with the volunteers in the PTO, we feel far more comfortable sending him to that public school vs our current zoned school or the Catholic school. We want to establish a strong, independent, confident young man at the elementary level and that means keeping him in a diverse environment at school. My mother in law is a former public school principal and even created curriculum at the state level, so she will help us navigate the system and assess appropriately. We will eventually send the kids to private school and expect to face a new set of situations at that point. DH and I both went to prep schools in the northeast so we are very familiar with that environment. However, the good experiences we gained in prep school far outweigh the bad and think it's still worth sending our boys there, or the equivalent of it in our city if they don't want to board.

FWIW, I am SHOCKED that the programs that are prevalent in the northeast are nowhere to be found here in the south. DH and SIL paid full tuition by BIL and many of my friends got free rides via the A Better Chance program or something similar (that is for NYC kids). 

Oh my gosh .

ABC does have a presence here, too.

Eta - atlncs.org/news/a-better-chance-information-session/

andwhat, imo, there is such a huge difference from parochial schools (particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and NE) and other private schools, particularly prep schools, that I don't even consider them to be similar.  The difference in diversity is just stark.

[asdfjkl]

Mar 29, 2016 8:01:08 GMT -5 ttt said:

Mar 29, 2016 7:54:32 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Is any of this a surprise?

The part that sort of surprises me is that it's not about economics. I had assumed it was primarily because of high costs and I would like to know more about the other reasons minority students are not enrolling.

We recently moved to an independent private school out of a socioeconomically and racially diverse parochial school.  Two of the families that also toured the school we changed to are AA.  They have both said that they won't send their kids to the independent private school specifically because it is not racially diverse and they don't want their kids to have the experience of being "the black kid" in the all white classroom.  So it doesn't have to do with economics for them.  And my guess is that even if it had a little to do with economics, the school is so desperate for diversity, they would offer a scholarship or grant or "assistance" of some kind.  But these two families would probably still say no.  But then it does become a bit of a repeating cycle.