Federal grant could help to diversify Md. schools

Despite the myriad challenges facing public education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and widening inequality, in Maryland there is a sense that the future looks bright. That optimism is largely due to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a broad-based strategy to improve educational outcomes in the state. I, for one, am excited to witness the ascendance of public education in our state as my two young children become school-aged in the coming years.

And yet, despite Blueprint-based hopefulness, there is a glaring omission in the work Maryland’s schools are set to undertake. The legislation does not take on the rampant and persistent racial and socioeconomic segregation within and between Maryland’s school districts.

Like many other parents I know in Baltimore, my wife and I are searching for amazing educational opportunities for our children, and one of our most important criteria is that their peers reflect the beautiful diversity of this city.

According to a 2019 study, Maryland is third worst in the nation in terms of the percentage of Black students who attend hyper-segregated, nonwhite schools; and sixth worst in the nation for Latino students. Data from The Century Foundation shows that the Baltimore metro area is the 34th most segregated metropolitan area in the country in terms of Black-white segregation.

Research demonstrates that one of the reasons racial segregation is so pernicious is that it often concentrates students of color in high-poverty schools, which are associated with lower teacher quality, higher levels of stress, fewer resources, and less access to social and cultural capital that helps students succeed. By contrast, students in diverse and integrated schools perform better academically, have more opportunities to engage in critical thinking and problem-solving, and are less likely to harbor harmful biases or stereotypes later in life. Moreover, more than eight in 10 people agree that racially diverse schools are important.

What should Maryland’s schools and districts do about the lack of urgency around school segregation? Well, the federal government just announced a competitive grant open to all LEAs (school districts), consortia of LEAs (school districts that team up together), and LEAs who partner with their state agencies, to apply for funding to study this issue and/or implement solutions to it. Maryland districts and MSDE have 60 days to get in an application.

The application for the Fostering Diverse Schools program offers two types of grants: planning grants and implementation grants. Planning grants enable districts to propose topics related to segregation for study, such as exploring solutions from around the country to persistent segregation or better understanding the root causes of segregation. Planning grants can also support community engagement processes that involve local stakeholders in exploring and proposing solutions to segregation.

For districts that are ready to act, implementation grants are available that offer opportunities to start new school models, improve student assignment algorithms or zones, or undertake any number of actions to improve school diversity.

Students, parents and community members across Maryland who care about undoing the ugly legacy of segregation should ensure their local districts submit an application to further these ends.

While there are many potential angles to pursue, here are three concrete ideas for application concepts from Maryland:

Baltimore City and Baltimore County team up to submit a planning grant to study the feasibility and desirability of a crosscounty magnet school with a specialized focus and unique enrollment algorithm to ensure geographic, economic and racial diversity.

MSDE teams up with various school districts in Maryland to study how to ensure that as the state expands pre-K in the coming years, these pre-K classrooms reflect the racial and socioeconomic diversity of Maryland.

Maryland counties with rapidly increasing populations of English Language learners, such as Prince George’s and Frederick counties, submit an implementation grant to start a new two-way bilingual program with unique enrollment mechanisms that ensure linguistic, socioeconomic and racial diversity.

However Maryland jurisdictions decide to pursue the nearly endless opportunities that this grant presents, what is most important is that they pursue it. Years from now, when we look back on the improvements the Blueprint made in Maryland, we’ll only truly be proud if our children can enjoy them in diverse, integrated, and rigorous classrooms. I know that for my children, nothing less will do.