White Students Are No Longer Majority In U.S. Public Schools

Over the past couple years, the public school system has been in the news for a number of reasons. Some of them are good, while others are bad. Here at The Inquisitr, we reported on such news including the incorporation of Common Core into physical education and the opinion that the system has gone zero-tolerance crazy.

The latest news illustrates who attends public schools, as reports are coming in that the majority of students in U.S. public schools are no longer Caucasians, or to be more blunt, white.

According to an article by the Miami Herald, for the first time, U.S. public schools are projected this fall to have more minority students than non-Hispanic whites, a shift which is largely influenced by the growth in the number of Hispanic children. The changing demographics of American education are apparent inside Jane Cornell’s summer school classroom, where students primarily come from Spanish-speaking homes. The sign outside of classrooms reads both “Welcome” and “Bienvenidos” in polished handwriting.

Right now, the estimates on cultural diversity in public schools is about one-forth Hispanic, 15 percent black, and 5 percent Asian and Pacific Islander. Biracial students and Native Americans make up a smaller share of the minority student population. These numbers bring a new reality to academics, such as the need for more English language instruction, and cultural ones too. This may include changing lunch menus to reflect students’ taste.

Unfortunately, these changes may result in racial tension, as reported by ABC News. For example, in Louisiana last month, Jefferson Parish public school administrators reached an agreement with the federal government to end an investigation for discrimination against English language learners. In May, police were needed to quell a racially-based fight between Hispanic and black students at a school in the Chicago, Illinois, suburb of Streamwood.

Barry Tomasetti, superintendent for Pennsylvania’s Kennett Consolidated school District, favorably described the situation with diversity:

“We like our diversity. Our expectation is all of our kids succeed.”

Now that you have a bit of understanding of the situation, we want to know what you think about these new changes. Are the ethnic changes in public schools a good thing or a bad thing? If you believe this is a good thing, why is it a good thing and what do you expect from such a change? The same question can be asked for those who see this as a bad thing. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

[Image via Bing]