When people think of the Charter School of Wilmington, they think about one of the highest-rated high schools in the state. But beneath the shiny veneer, there is a very dark undertone that is pervasive throughout the school. This became clear to a student who I will call Bill (to protect his identity), and his mother, Michelle (also protecting her identity). Bill’s story is the part about Charter School of Wilmington nobody from the school will admit or own up to: a culture of superiority and class, with very few minorities other than Asians. The very few minorities that are present at the school are few and far between compared to most Delaware schools. For Bill, what happened to him could easily be seen as racial or even class profiling, or both.
Charter School of Wilmington has the following profiles for race: 63.7% White, 26.4% Asian, 6% African-American, 3.3% Hispanic/Latino, .4% American Indian and .3% Hawaiian. For special education they have .2% of their students with an IEP, and no Early Language Learners in attendance. In 2013-2014, no student was held back. For those reading this, if you are not familiar with Wilmington, Delaware, it is a city with racial demographics as follows: 58% African-American, 32% White, 12% Hispanic/Latino, Below 1% for Asian, and Below 1% for Hawaiian. So how does a charter school in Wilmington have such a vast difference in student populations compared to the population of the largest city in Delaware?
While some may call it cherry-picking, others call it enrollment preference, and with CSW, they add the extra layer of “specific interest” for their rigorous academic curriculum. The school was named in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the local school district, Red Clay Consolidated School District, along with the Delaware Department of Education.
Bill belongs to one of the above minorities at CSW. But you wouldn’t know it to look at him. According to his mother Michelle, Bill looks as white as most of the students at the school. What sets him apart is the fact that “he doesn’t fit the mold of the typical CSW student.” He does not come from an affluent family, he lives downstate, he doesn’t comb his hair to the side, he drives a pick-up truck, and he doesn’t dress like his peers. Michelle describes Bill as a young man who is very mechanical and always ready to fix something. Bill is, however, a brilliant young man with a 3.2 grade point average, and he was already accepted to one of the state universities with a scholarship. Bill’s mother also gave permission for me to tell Bill’s story.
On March 26th, 2015, everything changed for Bill. What happened after to Bill was a denial of procedural due process and discrimination. Bill’s mother received a call from the school that afternoon at 2:28 pm to pick up Bill. This is Michelle’s accounting of what happened:
When it gets too hot, just visit this blog. It will cool you down quick!
First, I want to thank all of you who commented on my last blog post!! I did not expect to receive that much response, and it has motivated me to keep blogging, although I haven`t actually posted anything since then. With the return of the sun and clear and cold weather conditions, I have simply been concentrating on other things … but now, I´m back 🙂 !
This first picture was taken in the end of January, when we finally were able to see the sun!
Everything looked different in sunlight. I did take many pictures that day!!
In terms of hunting, Ingkasi went on a couple of succesful hunting trips to the ice-edge between Kap Hope and Kap Steward during the first weeks of February, bringing home food for us and the dogs.
I stayed in Ittoqqortoormiit, but began training my dogs on the ice close to town.
Every…
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The Season Of Myths 