Black parents urge boycott after school board action
BevK April 20th, 2006
http://www.news-gazette.c…ol_board_action
Armed police officers in Champaign, Illinois schools leading some to homeschool.
Causley and her sister, Natalie Freeman, say they will take their children out of the Champaign school district in protest of the decision to put armed police officers in the schools. They are asking other parents to do the same.
Parents taking back control:
Freeman is concerned about unequal treatment for black children because the Champaign school district is under a consent decree in which the educational achievement and discipline of black children is being monitored, and because a study released last year showed minorities are more likely to be pulled over for traffic stops by Champaign police.
“We already know the children who are going to be targeted (by the officers) are African-American,” she said.
She said many black parents don’t support police in the schools, but she is calling on all parents who have concerns about the program to boycott the district.
“All my customers who have come in today are parents who have children in the Unit 4 school district,” said Freeman, who owns the Anointed Hands Beauty Salon. “Every last one of them is going to fill out the home school application and pull their children out of the schools.”
She and Causley have contacted churches to donate space for the children, and they are trying to line up tutors through a University of Illinois graduate student in education. They also are passing out home school applications to other parents in the black community.
“We’re not asking people to pull their kids out of the schools and have no other resources for them,” Freeman said.
“If the statistics are showing that our kids aren’t learning anyway, what is it going to hurt to pull your kids out? They are still going to be taught, and let’s see if they can do a better job than the district does,” she said.
I love that last quote. She’s absolutely right. What is it going to hurt?
The educrats response:
He also said the school district can offer more to students than home schooling, including a more enriching social experience, more course offerings, advanced placement classes and support services for students with special needs.
Looks like it’s a long term struggle:
But school officials say keeping children out of school for the rest of this academic year won’t have an impact. The Title 1 aid is based on the number of children enrolled in the free and reduced-price lunch program at the beginning of the academic year. And state aid is based on the best three months of attendance, which are usually in the fall.
