Several readers of this blog who live in South Bend, Indiana, wrote to say that Fred Klonsky is wrong about Pete Buttigieg and the status of racial integration in the public schools of South Bend.
One native of South Bend wrote as follows.
Fred Klonsky’s article is simplistic and wildly inaccurate and Mr. Buttigieg’s statement about “school districts” is absolutely correct.
First, South Bend Community School Corporation is under a desegregation consent decree, and for many years, almost all of its schools have had black student enrollments within plus-or-minus 15 percentage points of the district-wide average. That is a common, court-accepted standard for a racially integrated school.
Second, South Bend is a diverse school district, with overall enrollment around 35% black, 10-15% Hispanic and about 50% non-Hispanic white. In contrast, suburban Penn Harris Madison school district is more than 90% non-Hispanic white. So, that is the context of Mayor Pete’s context.
South Bend just filed an annual report with the Court last month with shows exactly how integrated its schools actually are. It is too bad Mr. Klonsky did not do any research before spouting off about something apparently knows nothing about.
The public schools of South Bend have been under court ordered desegregation plan since 1981.
The public schools are monitored every year to see if any of them are out of compliance with the court order.
The corporation files a report on the racial makeup of each South Bend school annually to update the U.S. Department of Justice on its compliance with “Plan Z” — which is the redistricting plan that went into effect in 2002 to help the district make its schools more integrated. The plan was mandated by the 1981 consent decree.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
In 2018, 334 districts are still under court ordered desegregation monitoring. Research suggests that these districts tend to re-segregate unless there is regular court oversight. The federal Civil Rights Data Collection is undergoing revision. Whether this information will continue to be available is uncertain.
See this 2018 report: https://projects.propublica.org/miseducation/
Some years back, Nikole Hannah Jones did a study for ProPublica where she showed that many districts under court order to desegregate ignored the order and actually forgot that they were under court order. Indifference and neglect made the court orders moot.
SADLY well said: Indifference and neglect made the court orders moot. In so many instances.
“It is too bad Mr. Klonsky did not do any research before spouting off about something apparently knows nothing about.”
Sorry, no time, gotta retweet!
Looking forward to more info about elite Pete, McKinsey and the billionaires who like him so much. Buttigieg is the Democrat for Republican voters if they don’t want Bloomberg.
OK… Elite. You say this while everybody knows EW is a millionaire who earned 6 figures as a Harvard Law professor (not going to get on what went on before that) and has an accumulated wealth in the millions.
Or BS who is a new millionaire thanks to his new found fame – acquired by running for president and arguably costing HRC the election.
Meanwhile, Buttigieg left the corporate world, served in the military, is paying his mortgage and has an accumulated wealth of 100K (by far the lowest of the top 5). That is not an invention or an opinion – it’s verifiable data.
Elitism is attacking a Democrat candidate with baseless accusations instead of focusing on policies and getting DT out of the WH. Not many people can afford another 2016.
If your idea of supporting your candidate is attacking mine, it only tells me 2 things.. 1) mine is winning 2) your candidate needs better supporters.
Find another narrative. And try using facts.
No one ever became a multimillionaire by teaching as a law professor.
The fact that Bernie earned a million dollars in royalties from his book does not make him a multimillionaire.
They are proposing a wealth tax, health care for all, and massive student loan forgiveness.
Look at where the billionaires are putting their money: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2019/11/18/here-are-the-billionaires-funding-the-democratic-presidential-candidates/#71d6b49674bb
GCABR-
I can be won over when Pete announces that America’s most important common good, public education, is sacrosanct and, he opposes its privatization and corporatization to benefit Silicon Valley, and anti-union billionaires. Pete can show he backs the founding fathers in separation of church and state. He can side with 66% of the current population who oppose tax dollars for church schools. He can march with public teachers for democracy.
I had lunch yesterday with a dyed in the wool Republican (her Dad was mayor of a big southern city when Republicans still dominated the landscape). Her adult children, like most young people are Democrats
and they pointed out to her, Republican hypocrisy. That coupled with her dislike of Trump provoked her to ask me, her only Democratic associate, about Buttigeig. I told her he is an opportunistic, corporate shill. When I got home, I e-mailed her articles as proof. In the unlikely event she votes Democratic, my description of Pete will have made him an attractive candidate to her.
Pete, Michelle, Cory, Bloomberg, Hillary, Biden- respectfully, I don’t see a difference.
GCABR-
How many billionaire checks would Pete’s campaign get if he was an economic progressive?
I hear you. Take a look!
https://thebulwark.com/the-problematic-pete-wars
freddy-
It doesn’t help GCABR’s case when your linked defense for Pete was written by a self-described conservative and former employee of Jeb Bush and the RNC.
Did you observe that Miller omitted mention of the hefty number of billionaire checks written to Buttigieg’s campaign?
“Unofficial” segregation is when:
“Schools are highly integrated – except that non-black Hispanics get counted as White. In the west part of town it does mean that several schools are mostly Black and Brown.”
This alone is problematic everywhere it is occurring. It’s what the greater conversation surrounding Buttigieg’s comments are really about.
Also, I wonder what the percentages are AFTER the students enter the schools in East South Bend (and North South Bend and SOUTH South Bend). And not just schools in South Bend, but every other city, town, and state.
The classrooms and “teams” are where the most segregation happens (but not “officially,” of course).
All of this is what we are still fighting. All of this is what Buttigieg wasn’t aware of.
This is exactly why I have so much respect for Diane Ravitch. Thank you for making a correction.
There are many valid reasons to prefer a different candidate over Pete Buttigeig. But the way that the right wing divides us is to mischaracterize Democrats to make them look like corrupt and dishonest politicians who cannot be trusted.
Pete Buttigieg is not among my top favorite candidates. Buttigieg has some policies that are more conservative than I like, and other policies that I like a lot because they are very close to the policies of the most progressive candidates. I won’t be voting for him in the primary, but if he wins the primary, or if Bernie wins and makes Pete his VP choice, I would strongly support him over Trump because he would clearly be 1,000,000,000x better than Trump.
Clearly
It’s very important to be able to apologize -for whatever- especially these days.
We have a president who seems to be unable to apologize for much of anything. (And, as the readers of this blog have amply documented, he certainly has a lot to answer for.)
As we head into the darkest days of the year, there is some light out there.
Stay warm, those of you in more northern climes. A few weeks ago I was putting my lawnmower away. Now, I’ve got these seemingly permanent paths through the snow…..snow trenches.
Absolutely in agreement with your first sentence, John.
This is so important in that we always must make sure truth is told, particularly in these dangerous times.
And, aside from usual holiday wishes for peace on earth, in speaking truth, I would like to see the msm stop its suppression–once again, as they did in 2016–of Bernie coverage. There is to be a big rally of Bernie supporters (I will have to find the date–January, I believe) in either D.C. or NYC (again, will have to check).
Giving no information is almost–or just as–bad as spreading misinformation.
Washington Post, don’t just walk the walk…talk the talk, because, indeed, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
Bernie’s numbers of supporters would be huge if corporate-owned media wasn’t stacking the deck.
I still have my Bernie lawn sign from 2016 out in the shed. I couldn’t throw it out.
I do some lessons about campaign ads….I show ads past and present. A Hillary spot….Trump stuff…then I show that Bernie ad that was set to Simon and Garfunkel’s “America”. No matter how many times I show that one I feel a silent sinking deep in my heart. It actually hurts.
What could have been. And, the hateful place we find our country at now.
Bernie ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nwRiuh1Cug
I sure hope 2020 starts a better decade for us all.
BTW for a tragic illustration of how the far right hate machine works, check out the NY Times magazine story about wack job Alex Jones. Among other targets, Jones went after Islamberg, a peaceful community located in our town. Dozens of times I’ve had to tell even well meaning people, no, these residents at Islamberg are neighbors, parents, veterans -not a threat. Yet, no matter what I say, there’s still some people who believe internet crap more than me. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/magazine/alex-jones-infowars.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage
The dark place the nation is in-
The Senate confirmed a federal judge in Missouri who opposes surrogacy and in vitro fertilization. It’s an example of American theocracy killing hope for so many.
Thank you… please get this correction to MSM. It will help out a lot.
“It will help out a lot” if Pete’s supporters can convince him to turn against DFER.
Part I: Early Education
The early years of child development are a time of explosive growth and possibility. But the quality of early education varies significantly and it is far too expensive for many families. In many places, a year of child care costs more than a year of college tuition. Where public subsidies are available for preschool or child care, complicated paperwork can make it hard for parents to access. Furthermore, working families must also responsible finding coverage after school and during the summer. Convenient, safe options can be in short supply; many families simply can’t afford the few programs that are available.
Pete’s administration will build increase quality, access, affordability, and equity in the early childhood system, prioritizing the child care workforce via support for credential and skill-building, coaching and mentoring, and long-overdue pay increases.
Ensure universal, affordable full-day early child care and pre-K for children from infancy to age 5 with a landmark $700 billion investment.
Build on and unify existing funding streams to finance a major new universal subsidy program, while also strengthening and expanding Head Start and Early Head Start into full-time programs accessible to many more low-income families.
Make child care affordable for all families, and free for those in most need. No family will need to pay more than 7% of income in early learning costs. This means an average savings of over $10,000 per child per year for those families making below median income, and significantly reduced costs for all families.
Provide families with exceptional freedom of choice by ensuring they can afford the high-quality early learning option that’s best for them. For instance, families’ options will include Head Start programs, local public programs, various private centers, or a high-quality home-based program that suits their needs.
K-12 1 Trillion Investment
The cost of child care is so prohibitive that my wife and I have decided to both become part-time workers and take the smaller paychecks. The amount of money we’re losing this way is actually equitable to the cost of child care for two children, and at least this way we get to make sure one parent is always home. While this is still an affordable option for us, it wouldn’t be had we not gotten financial support from our families. But we’re the exception, and not the rule.
— Corey, Virginia
Promote equity across the early learning system.
Combat racial and socioeconomic segregation and bias through investments in equity, mixed-subsidy classrooms, transportation, and ending preschool suspension and expulsion.
Invest in transportation and program navigation resources to reduce barriers to accessing high-quality care, including spending $1 billion annually on safe transportation assistance.
Create a $10 billion equity fund to support, test, and scale new practices and innovative policies to bridge the opportunity gaps that hold back children from historically marginalized communities.
Expand access to dual language curriculum in early education.
Support families from the start with voluntary nurse and social worker parent-child visiting programs.
Invest in the foster care system and provide greater services to families undergoing trauma.
Make the early childhood system easy to use for parents and providers.
Offer early childhood programs year-round, eliminate “cliffs” that penalize families for increasing their income, simplify registration, and provide early learning program counseling.
Appoint federal leadership that prioritizes improving and coordinating early childhood supports.
Provide early learning program counseling to help families access the best early learning opportunities for their children through innovative partnerships with states and communities to build customized, culturally-responsive, and linguistically-accessible counseling services.
Invest in provider growth and quality through the Provider Excellence Initiative. Building on successful state and local examples, this initiative will enable early learning providers to seek support and financing for investments in improvements such as expanding seats and improving quality.
Invest in the child development workforce and create over 1 million new, good jobs.
Invest in early childhood wages and workforce development, including by investing $2 billion per year in workforce development funding for training, certification, and wage increases. Pete will also require states to set fair and appropriate payment rates that are commensurate with other similarly qualified professionals.
Support strong unions for educators and staff, as included in Pete’s comprehensive labor plan.
Expand and improve public service loan forgiveness for early childhood educators.
Improve our knowledge about child development.
Improve data linkages between early learning and K-12 systems.
Expand research on child development, including by providing $5 billion in new annual funding to the National Institutes of Health.
K-12 Educator Pay
Read Pete’s plan to build greater access, equity, and affordability into our early child care system.
Part II: Great Teachers & Great Schools
To combat inequality, raise educational performance, and prepare American students for the 21st Century, Pete’s administration will invest over $300 billion in new federal funding for Title I schools, invest in mental health, expand after-school and summer learning programs, and increase instructional resources for teachers. He will support creativity and excellence in the classroom, expanding access to arts and hands-on STEM learning to prepare students for 2054—not 1954.
Make our public schools drivers of equity
Triple funding for Title I schools. Title I schools—those schools with high numbers of students from low-income backgrounds—need more resources if their students are to have equal opportunities to succeed. Pete will triple funding for Title I to support additional services for low-income students above and beyond state and local funding resources, as well as to raise teacher salaries.
I’m a public school teacher in my second year of teaching. I adore teaching and I love all of my kids. I work at a Title 1 School where 75% of my students qualify for free lunch and 60% live below the poverty line. The most important thing to me is access to equitable education. My school building is falling apart, and we do not have the funds to build a new one. I wake up every day to try and do the best I can for the kids I adore. But I do not feel valued by a government that is funneling money away from schools like mine that desperately need it.
— Carly, Ohio
Close the opportunity gap by reversing inequitable funding structures at the state and local level. State and local per-pupil spending in the districts serving the highest populations of students of color in America is 13% lower than spending in predominantly white districts.2 Pete will target his increased in Title I funding to support states and districts that implement equitable education funding formulas to provide more state and local resources to low-income schools—ending abuses like South Carolina’s ‘Corridor of Shame,’ a district with historically inevitable school financing.3
Increase racial and economic integration of schools and neighborhoods. 50 years after Brown vs. Board of Education, most students still attend effectively racially segregated schools.4 Pete will create a $500 million fund to incentivize and support community-led racial and economic school integration, which is proven to improve student outcomes. He will reinstate the Obama Administration’s guidance on the voluntary use of race in state- and district-level strategies to integrate schools, immediately remove the restrictions on the use of federal funds to support state and local busing initiatives as part of local efforts to voluntarily integrate schools, and increase collaboration across federal and state agencies.
K-12 Students of Color
Break the school-to-prison pipeline by, among other actions, reinstating Obama-era guidance to address discipline disparities and investing in successful district-level solutions that reduce the use of exclusionary discipline, starting in preschool. Pete will encourage states to pass legislation that eliminates suspensions for discretionary infractions, such as “disrespect” or dress code infractions, where bias is most likely to seep in. He will also direct the Department of Education to issue guidance on non-punitive alternatives like restorative justice and positive behavioral supports.
Ban for-profit charter schools and ensure equal accountability for public charter schools. Pete’s priority is strengthening and investing in public schools to ensure that they have the capacity to best serve students. Because the profit motive distorts priorities in K-12 education, Pete will ban for-profit charter schools. He will promote comparable levels of accountability and transparency between charter and traditional public schools. He will work with states to ensure that policy innovations from charter programs that benefit students can be subsequently shared to strengthen the traditional public school system—and that educators in traditional public schools have the power to innovate in their own classrooms. And because public dollars should fund public schools, Pete will continue to oppose the implementation of any federal school voucher program.
Support students with disabilities, including by fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), alongside other proposals in Pete’s disability plan.
Invest in English language learners and bilingualism.
Support Native students, including by significantly investing in funding the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), as fully outlined in Pete’s plan for Indian Country.
Support excellent and diverse educators
Eliminate the wage gap for Title I teachers. Pete will increase salaries for teachers, school leaders, and school support staff; support recruitment, training, and retention of diverse educators; and expand funding for supplemental services for students. Districts will be required to use the increased funding to first close the salary gap in Title I schools so these jobs are competitive with other jobs in their area that require similar education and training. They will also have to invest in additional supports for students, including mental health services and curricular innovation.
Support strong unions for educators and staff, as included in Pete’s comprehensive labor plan.
Establish the Education Access Corps to prepare and retain future educators. Pete’s administration will work with states to identify a select group of high-quality, multi-year collegiate teacher preparation programs to educate cohorts of aspiring teachers, including programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
LAUNCH THE EDUCATION ACCESS CORPS TO PREPARE AND RETAIN FUTURE EDUCATORS.
Pete’s administration will select high-quality collegiate teacher preparation programs, including HBCUs, to serve as national teacher academies. Programs will include early exposure to classroom settings and training in cultural competency and combating bias.
Academy graduates will commit to teach in a Title I school and receive a portable teaching license.
Tuition costs will be covered as a deferred loan, of which 25% will be cancelled after three years of service and the rest fully forgiven after seven years of teaching in a Title I school.
Pete will also expand this program to early childhood educators.
Double the proportion of new teachers and school leaders who are people of color in 10 years. Pete will invest in diversifying the teaching workforce and growing the leadership of school leaders of color, who currently make up less than one-quarter of all school principals.5 Districts submitting school improvement plans to states will also be asked to identify strategies to improve teacher racial diversity—which research has shown is a driver of success for all students—as a key component of their plans.6
Create the School Leadership Lab to increase the diversity of school staff so it reflects the diversity of the student body as a whole.
Launch a School Climate Innovation Fund to encourage states to test and scale school climate solutions, including for reducing discipline disparities for students of color and students with disabilities, as well as addressing mental and physical health needs, including trauma.
Recruit, support, and retain more special education teachers, especially in rural areas.
I am currently working as a union advocate. As far as education in rural and urban poor districts goes, adequate and equal funding needs to be addressed. Districts that are failing to meet the needs of the students need to receive additional funds to make sure services and supports are adequately provided and paid for to enrich the students.
— Lou Ann, Michigan
Prepare students for the future economy
Kickstart innovation in teaching and learning through a new $3 billion fund for research, testing, and evaluation of community-led education innovation goals.
Launch the Jobs of the Future program for Title I districts to provide students with apprenticeships through paid, on-the-job training in emerging sectors of our economy such as computer science, health care, and clean energy.
Make access to STEM learning and Advanced Placement courses more equitable.
Prepare students for construction and engineering careers by establishing the Infrastructure Accelerator Program.
Expand access to reliable internet service at public schools.
Strengthen schools as the backbone of our democracy
Prioritize federal support for arts education.
Increase funding to the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.
Increase federal support for community schools.
Ensure students are prepared to be engaged citizens by increasing instructional time in social studies and civics.
Create opportunities for more high school students to participate in national service.
I am a father of 3 children. I have been a stay at home dad since I medically retired from the Marine Corps in October of 2015. I just started going back to college this semester studying to become a high school history teacher. My goal is to educate future generations to be able to look back on history and right the wrongs of the past. To become intelligent, open-minded, caring, respectful young adults with a passion to stand up to bigotry and racist rhetoric, as well as all forms of hate. And know by doing that, they will become better individuals as a whole and set a standard for all the world to live by and hopefully live in peace.
— Michael, Louisiana
Read Pete’s plan to strengthen America’s public schools.
Part III: Wrap-Around Support
High-quality early education as well as excellent teachers and schools in the K-12 years are a strong start to supporting students—yet many of the factors behind student success have roots outside of the classroom. Once children start K-12 schooling, access to safe and effective learning environments remains extremely unequal during out-of-school time. Pete will provide support for these additional gaps in children’s skill development opportunities outside the K-12 system. His administration will also make sure that every school has the staffing and resources to address students’ well-being.
Level the playing field outside of school by ensuring all children have access to outside of the classroom K-12 and summer learning opportunities, including in art, sports, and STEM.
Prioritize mental health in our schools, including by expanding access to mental health care in schools and reinstating the Office of Safe and Supportive Schools in the Department of Education. Pete will also work to keep students safe in schools through comprehensive gun violence prevention measures.
Support LGBTQ+ students and educators by building a culture of inclusion that starts in the Department of Education.
Close the gap in access to school counselors at Title I and rural schools.
K-12 Summer Learning
Read Pete’s plan to give every child access to after-school and summer programs.
The promise we make in America is that every child should have access to an education that will give them the power to live a life of their choosing. If you believe we should keep our word, text PROMISE to 25859.
By submitting your cell phone number you are agreeing to receive periodic text messages from Pete for America. Message and data rates may apply. Text HELP for more information. Text STOP to stop receiving messages.
FOOTNOTES
Whitebook, M., McLean, C., Austin, L.J.E., & Edwards, B. “Early Childhood Workforce Index: 2018.” Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. 2018.Back to content
Amerikaner, Ary and Ivy Morgan. “Funding Gaps: An Analysis of School Funding Equity Across the US and Within Each State.” The Education Trust. February 2018.Back to content
“Some Changes Being Made for Schools in Corridor of Shame.” Wis News. August 21, 2007.Back to content
“Nonwhite Districts Get $23 Billion Less Than White Districts Despite Serving the Same Number of Students.” Ed Build. 2019.Back to content
DeRoche, John, Jason Hill, and Randolph Ottem. “Trends in Public and Private School Principal Demographics and Qualifications: 1987-88 to 2011-12.” National Center for Education Statistics. US Department of Education. April 2016.Back to content
Cherng, H.-Y. S., & Halpin, P. F. “The Importance of Minority Teachers: Student Perceptions of Minority Versus White Teachers.” Educational Researcher, 45(7), 407–420. 2016.Back to content
Thank you for your apology. As a Pete supporter I am dismayed at many inaccurate articles about Pete that are not fact checked. We appreciate your correction. That takes integr and class.
Thanks, some Pete supporters attacked me on Twitter for apologizing.
The way to recognize “Fake News” is that no one ever apologizes.
Why would Pete supporters attack you for apologizing?!
Seems as if they should applaud you!
They attack me for being wrong, then apologizing. They say I should never have been wrong.
Karen-
Pete’s integrity will be noticed at this blog when he turns against the hedge funds of DFER.
Up to John O., @ 7:50 PM, 12/6: I still have my Bernie 2016 sign, all the pins and just 1 (’cause I sold the other 499 {money to B’s campaign} or gave them away) of each-
“Seniors for Sanders” sign(s) & “Boomers for Bernie” signs. Sniff & sob.
In fact, if anyone out there wants to or has good contact w/the Bernie campaign, please feel free to cop this idea, recreate these signs & make the local & national campaign pay attention (insofar as I know, these only got as far as Chicago area) & have boomers & seniors out there at rallies (esp. on the stage next to Bernie) holding up these signs. They’re simple: they use the same lettering used in the posters & yard signs, in red, white & blue. They are important, esp. because, in 2016, it was widely spread that
(true or not) Bernie did not have the support of this age group (which I actually didn’t believe–I volunteered in several states, & at least 50% of the workers were boomers & seniors). & I’d wager it’s the same now.
Also–a reminder to vote ON ELECTION DAY–“Paper is Safer,” & only machine voting is available in early voting. & you all watched the John Oliver segment on voting machines, did you not? If not: