Equipo Necesario para la Ejecución de las Obras

As part of the interview process, all participants were asked directly what made the most sense to them regarding the method of school assignment. They were each asked the hypothetical question, “If you were in charge of school assignment in the SBCSC, how would you do it?” All seven of the participants in the study mentioned proximity to the home in their answers. Five of the seven participants were emphatic that this should be the most important if not the only factor. Two other participants seemed more conflicted about their responses and still struggled to come up with a definitive answer to the question.

The five parents who did agree that proximity to home should be the number one factor in school assignment did so quickly and without hesitation. The answers were generally short and directly to the point. One parent responded, “Location. Where they live.” Another affirmed, “I just think if you live where the school is, go to that

school.” Two other parents agreed and also expressed their opinion that if there were a closer school, students should be allowed to go there. “I guess I would do first where the kids live at. So, if your home is like a mile or a couple miles surrounding, everybody would be able to go to that school. As long as you live five or ten minutes from the school, you can attend the school.”

The fifth participant in this group also agreed and reiterated the convenience aspect, If your kid stayed close, you could walk to school as a far as a middle school-aged child like my daughter. She could walk to school. So I feel like it would be a big

advantage if the child lived close; they could cut down on buses, and they would actually probably save money because those kids could actually walk to school, or the bus route wouldn’t take as long to pick up the kids in the neighborhood and bring them to school.

Of those five parents who were very clear about their priorities, two of them went on to explain that they believed a neighborhood school would actually be quite diverse and that they believed other parents would also accept the demographics of a school in their neighborhood. The only problem, these parents pointed out, is that schools like Greene that are outside of the city limits would still have a problem with demographics. One mother observed, “Yeah, where they live, because if they did go by location, I think the racial balance wouldn’t be extremely off. Maybe for Greene -- Greene and [two other schools outside the city limits], like the schools that are out in the country. It might be something different there, but the majority of the schools don’t need to be desegregated.”

Outside of the five parents who immediately and emphatically listed proximity as their most important factor, the two other parents did also mention location as one of the most important considerations. These mothers, however, also saw other aspects of the question as it pertained to their own child. One expressed,

Well, one thing I kind of question is like with us being so far away, how is it that this is Greene’s district, and we’re so far away? You know, most of the kids who live out there by Greene should be the ones going to Greene, but then we have that issue of the race part of it because most of the kids that live out there are white.

This same parent pointed out that her son was interested in a magnet program that Greene offered, so the distance was not the only factor for them.

Another of the conflicted parents agreed that proximity to the school made the most sense but had a different reason for wanting her child to continue to attend

Greene. She initially explained, “What I can say is that it’s probably the side of town you live on….but that’s kind of a hard question. Uh, I think they need to mix it up a little bit more. I really do.” This mother went on to express that she perceived there being different benefits to her child attending a school that was more diverse, contending that her child would do better academically if he attended a school with more white

children. For these two parents, even though location made the most sense in general, their own situations and beliefs revealed their understanding of the complexity of the assignment process.

In terms of what the parents in the study wanted, another important theme emerged: the desire for choice. Four of the seven parents mentioned that they did not feel they had choices when it came to where their child goes to school. One answered emphatically, “I mean, me personally, I think parents should have a choice. They

shouldn’t tell them that they have to. I mean, if it was up to me, I would send my child to a different school.” Another parent did understand that there was a process in place to request a transfer to another school, but she was confused and disillusioned with the process, and she had not yet gotten the answer that she wanted. She explained, “I would ask parents. Once a school gets filled up, then if other parents would like for their kids to go there, I would give them options, saying, ‘You don’t have to go through all these hoops. If you would like your kid to go to a different school then you can go to a

different school’….I would try to accommodate every family if possible.” One parent shared that she felt that the people who have the choices are the people who are “able to drive their kid to school.”

Related to choice, the final request that two parents expressed was just that the SBCSC re-evaluate the entire situation and try to make it better for families. One responded, “I just think they need to sit down and have another meeting and come up with something. Give parents some alternatives, something like that.” Another declared,

I just feel like if they ever try to do Plan Z over, they need to take into consideration how important the bus situation is too because that’s the main factor. It’s a big deal when they tell you an hour and half to two hours, and if your kid stayed close, they could just walk home or you could meet them at the school and walk a few blocks, so that’s where the Plan Z and transportation are not adding up.

These parents do not seem to feel that they have much control over the situation themselves, but they are hopeful that the district can still find a better way.