Diversity Is A Strength: Evanston Township High School Turns To Segregation To Boost Performance

From News Nation Now: "Illinois high school offers classes separated by race."

    A high school in Evanston, Illinois, implemented a program back in 2019 that let students segregate by race in order to address learning gaps.

    The program has gained popularity and has even expanded.

    Advocates for the program say it can help make students feel more comfortable in the classroom, which increases their chances of doing better in school.

    This year at Evanston Township High School, nearly 200 Black and Latino students signed up for core classes, like math and writing, within the program. Those students will attend classes with students of the same race.

    The so-called affinity classes are taught by a teacher of color, intended to help Black and Latino students enroll in advanced curriculum.

    The school district’s superintendent, Marcus Cambell, told The Evanstonian — the high school’s student newspaper — that the goal was to provide “a different, more familiar setting to kids who feel really anxious about being in AP classes.”

    While federal anti-discrimination laws ban public schools from mandatory segregation, education lawyers said the voluntary options for students don’t apply.

    Plus, Evanston isn’t the first to try this. Schools in Minnesota, California and Washington state also offer elective classes that are race-specific.

    Civil rights attorney Robert Patillo argued the program in Evanston is healthy and enriching for students, making learning feel more comfortable.

But do they have an option for white students be in an all-white class with white teachers? Or all Asian students with an Asian teacher? Of course not. After complaints (and probably to avoid a lawsuit) the school revised their original restrictions to black or Latino students, respectively, to opening the classes to all students although "intended to support students who identify as Black" or "… Latinx."