NYC addresses segregation in school system

NEW YORK — New York City officials announced a series of admissions changes for hundreds of middle schools and high schools Friday in one of the most significant steps the nation’s largest school system has taken in years to address racial segregation.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is suspending merit-based screening systems for its select middle schools for at least a year, partly because the coronavirus pandemic has scrambled test, attendance and grading data that the schools have used to grant admission to top-performing elementary school kids.

It wouldn’t be fair for schools to rely on 2-year-old data about children so young, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said. Instead, a lottery would be used when schools have more applicants than available seats.

Carranza called the changes “a common-sense approach” to tackling two issues: the challenges arising from the pandemic and longstanding patterns of racial concentration that leave many schools less diverse than the student population as a whole.

“These changes will help ensure that our classrooms reflect the great diversity that is New York City, and it’s also a true representation of the values that we hold dear as a city — that equity, inclusivity and excellence for all children is at the cornerstone of what we do,” he said.

The school system has more than 1.1 million students. About 41 percent are Hispanic, 26 percent Black, 16 percent Asian and 15 percent white. Despite professions of commitment to diversity and changes over the years to the system for assigning students to schools, many coveted schools fill up with white, wealthier students.

“It’s time to start using every tool at our disposal to address inequality,” said de Blasio. “The status quo in New York City public schools cannot continue.”