Lee’s Summit school district needs to have a tough conversation about race
Lee’s Summit has one of the highest performing school districts in the state. But too many of its minority students are struggling.
As demographics in Lee’s Summit have changed, the school district has slowly worked to knock down the barriers to success that minority students face. But the Lee’s Summit School Board and Superintendent Dennis Carpenter took heat last week from parents who opposed a plan to address racial inequity and close the achievement gap between white and minority students.
The district has consistently earned perfect scores in several categories on its annual performance report from the state, but sub-groups in the district have fallen short of those results..
“Kids of color are at the center of all those categories,” Carpenter said. “Race intersects all of the gaps you see in the district. When we look at achievement gaps and opportunity gaps, we need to understand equity and have a conversation about it. To say this was a conversation strictly about racial equity was a misnomer. This is about access and opportunity for all students.”
Race shouldn’t predict a child’s success. And stakeholders in the district should be eager to ensure that every child has opportunities.
Academic issues, a lack of diversity on the teaching staff and disproportionate discipline of minority students all contribute to Lee’s Summit’s achievement gap.
The district, though, has an important chance to make progress. And suggestions that tackling these issues might somehow steal resources from high-performing students are off base. This isn’t an either-or proposition.
Some parents also objected to a recommendation for training sessions with Glenn Singleton and his Pacific Educational Group. Singleton is the author of “Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools.” It was the No. 1 book recommended by the Missouri School Board Association for educators and administrators to read this year.
Singleton’s seminars aim to help schools identify and attack systemic racism in education. So why was there such staunch opposition? Or as Singleton asked this week: What are the protesting parents’ plans to address these issues?
“They are still facing escalating disparity,” Singleton said of minority students in the district. “And I am afraid that disparity will become more pronounced.”
District leaders should be unapologetic about wanting to tackle these challenges. But Carpenter and his executive team must communicate more effectively with parents and students about their plans and explain why having a tough conversation about race is essential.
Lee’s Summit could learn from the program in Jefferson County Schools in Louisville, Kentucky. It assesses the school system’s practices and policies. Access to academic programs, teacher recruitment, discipline and student achievement are the main focus.
Oakland’s school district has an equity policy that identifies racial bias. Teacher recruitment and retention, parent engagement, budgeting, as well as social and emotional support for children are among the priorities.
Racial equity training would not be a cure-all for Lee’s Summit schools. But it would be a good start.