FLOTUS and a struggling DC high school

On Thursday (March 19), twenty-one celebrated women, along with the First Lady Michelle Obama, visited a smattering of public and private schools in and around DC in honor of Women's History Month. The First Lady, took the opportunity to drop in at Anacostia Senior High School, a public school in the heart of Southeast, DC with a predominately black faculty and student body, 56% of whom are eligible for free or reduced meals. (As it happens, Anacostia was also the high school assigned to me according to DCPS neighborhood school zonings. I was, providentially, able to enroll elsewhere).

To find a spot in the daily news for something other than a violent incident or as the epitome of the district's struggling school system is an occasion for Anacostia. In the 2008, less than a quarter of the students gained at or above proficiency in Reading and Mathematics.

DC-CAS results 2006-08: % at or above proficient

Reading
21% (2008)
6% (2007)
12% (2006)
The state average for Reading was 42% in 2008.

Math
13% (2008)
5% (2007)
6% (2006)
The state average for Math was 41% in 2008.

Source: greatschools.net

I could chew my cud here concerning all the factors that play into the poor performance; rather I will highlight a salient point underscored by the First Lady in her visit yesterday. There exists an overwhelming peer censure against academic success among this predominately African-American student body. I do not believe this is just a black issue, but I think it has been reinforced in the black community in language used to describe blacks students who perform well. I quote the First Lady here:

“I remember there were kids around my neighborhood who would say, ‘Ooo, you talk like a white girl.’ I heard that growing up my whole life. I was like, ‘I don’t even know what that means.’ But you know what? I’m still getting my A’s.”

It would be ludicrous to think that the school will be plucked from the muck of violent infamy and mire of academic obscurity with a single gracing presence of the First Lady. But I have to say, that this visit, this notice, must be felt as a significant breech in the crushing sense that 'our school has been left behind; no one thinks of us but to deride us'.

It is a cultural push to provide momentum for the agenda rolled out by the Administration. (Ed.gov fact sheet; Whitehouse.gov fact sheet; Presidential speech)