‘What About Educational Segregation: No Negroes Enrolled In Six City Schools’
(Editor's note: This Is the second installment In the report of the citizens committee to study racial distribution in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.) Statistical information was sought by the committee on the total population figures in the Ann Arbor School District to determine whether or not Negro children perform at a lower academic level in predominantly Negro schools, and if so, whether this would be reflected in a higher drop-out rate for Negro children in high school.
The statistical charts (provided and included in the report) support the following findings:
1) Negroes constitute 4.7 percent of Ann Arbor's population, and Negro students constitute 6 percent of the student population in the city's school system.
2) About 85 percent of the 550 Negro children enrolled in elementary schools in September, 1963, attended four of the 21 regular elementary schools in operation at that time. No Negro children were enrolled in six schools, one to five Negro children were enrolled in seven other schools, and between 8 and 25 Negro children were enrolled at four schools.
The four schools with the highest Negro enrollment are as follows:
Jones-203 pupils, 153 or 75 percent Negroes; Mack-474
pupils, 195 or 41 percent Negroes; Northside-609 pupils, 77 — Discussion Scheduled For Next Week The Ann Arbor Board of Education has scheduled a public discussion of the Jones School report for its next meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, in the small auditorium of Ann Arbor High. The school board will not hold a regular meeting this week. — or 13 percent Negroes; Perry —105 pupils, 30 or 29 percent Negroes.
3) Reading tests are considered a reliable measure of academic achievement. Table 4 compares Negro-white reading test scores for the fourth, fifth and sixth grades in Ann Arbor Schools. By comparing the top half of the table (above grade level) with the lower half of the table (below grade level), contrasts in performance become apparent.
Findings include:
A.94.3 percent of white children are reading above grade level.
B.62 percent of Negro children are reading above grade level.
C.44.8 percent of Jones School Negro children test below grade level and 42.9 percent of Mack children test below grade level; while only 28.3 percent of the Negro students in predominantly white schools read below grade level. This table graphically portrays the better performance of Negro children in non-segregated schools.
4)Although academic performance is considered less ac-curate than reading scores in defining abilities. Table 5 findings again indicate that Negroes in predominantly white schools have a higher level than those at Jones and Mack.
5)A major finding in Table 6 would seem to be that a dis, proportionate number of Negro children (57 percent) are in the general program as compared to 15.3 percent of the white children. Fewer Negro children are receiving preparation for college, business and industrial careers.
6)The lower rate of educational achievement and a reduced incentive to learn are evident in the number of Negro dropouts form high school. (25.6 percent of Negroes as opposed to 5.3 percent of white children).
Next: Identification of the problems and issues of school segregation.