Black Parents Protest in Montgomery

A group of black parents in Montgomery County staged a protest last night in hopes of encouraging the school board to reexamine the admissions process for magnet school programs that have been dominated by Asian and white students.

About 30 parents and their children, all members of African American Parents of Magnet School Applicants, marched in a circle at the board's meeting, carrying signs with such slogans as "MCPS, a tale of two cities."

Despite news that the number of black and Hispanic students admitted to the middle school magnet program for the coming fall had doubled from last year, the parents said they still have significant concerns about the selection process and other issues involving black students in the state's largest school district.

"African American kids are artificially relegated into low-achievement classes," said Tom Broadwater Jr., volunteer coordinator for the group. Broadwater said that since the group was formed in January, its membership has grown to more than 100.

He said the group also is concerned about the overrepresentation of black students in special education programs. In addition, he said, statistics show that black and Hispanic students are more likely to be suspended compared with their white and Asian counterparts.

During the public comment portion of last night's meeting, the group demanded that the schools do more outreach to families of color, beginning with kindergarten, to let them know how to prepare for the magnet programs and begin an immediate investigation and overhaul of the gifted and talented program. They also asked for a meeting among Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, the NAACP, core members of their group and the school board president. They asked for a response to their request for the meeting within a week.

This month, the parents group asked the school board to suspend the middle school magnet application process on the grounds that it was biased against black students. The group said that 80 percent of the roughly 2,100 black students who had taken the yearly test for the gifted and talented program were not admitted.

School officials said they are working hard to ensure that students from all backgrounds have a fair shot at admission to top programs. Over the past year, they said schools have expanded outreach programs, particularly in the black community, partnering with the NAACP to hold workshops on the magnet school process. And for the first time, a test guide was published this year to help prepare students and their parents for middle school magnet admissions tests.

Officials said their efforts appear to have paid off. The number of black students admitted to middle school magnet programs increased to 51 this year, compared with 24 last year.

Group members said that they are heartened by the middle school magnet gain and that they're eager to work with the schools.

Emmett Gill's 10-year-old daughter was not admitted to the magnet program at Eastern Middle School. But that's not all that bothers him. The issue goes beyond individual children, he said, adding that black children need to see others like them in the program.

"If not," he said, "they fall prey to the stereotype that African American kids can't compete."