All-minority charters: Is it segregation?

Joanne Jacobs:

Some inner-city families prefer “cultural homogeneity,” AP concedes.

Others simply want a safe, effective school.

Test scores tend to be higher at integrated schools, reports AP. Only 20 percent of students reach proficiency at traditional public schools that are racially isolated, according to the AP analysis. By contrast, 30 percent reach proficiency at all-minority charters.

That’s not great. But it’s better.

Some low-income black students in Milwaukee reach high school unable to read, Howard Fuller, the former superintendent told AP. Talking about integration is a “waste of time,” he said. “How do these kids get the best education possible?”