Style Weekly
Richmond's alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion
Emily Painter McFarlane
Member since May 31, 2012
Recent Comments
Re: “Rezoning Race”
I would like to thank Mr. Williamson for bringing this important issue to the attention of Richmonders. I am a parent of a preschooler at Maymont, and a future in-zone Fox kindergartener.
It is my dream for Fox to set a precedent of excellence, as a neighborhood school, serving a wide enough range on the map that true diversity can be achieved. I believe RPS has an opportunity in this rezoning to create schools, like Holton and Maymont, that serve black students alongside white; rich along with poor, rather than continuing the unethical trend of dichotomous schools.
Posted by
Emily Painter McFarlane
on 05/31/2012 at 1:48 PM
Other Publications
Re: “Rezoning Race”
Mary, I hope Cary doesn't close. It is a wonderful school. Changing the balance of Fox to being a neighborhood school (some reports say it is 80% out of zone!) and incorporating students from nearby overly stressed schools, like Carver or Clark Springs has nothing to do with closing Cary. If the school board does chose to close Cary, because of under-utilization and budget shortfalls, they could at least be mindful of balancing race and SES in deciding how to handle the closure. Currently, the issues of race and SES are not being considered, however.
I was in support of one of the original plans to create grade centers with Fox and Cary and incorporating students from Clark Springs, but that plan was eliminated early on. I am not sure why.