Economic Disparities in Boundary Creation in Montgomery County Public Schools

Amber Lesniewicz Economic Disparities in Boundary Creation in Montgomery County Public Schools Economic diversity in schools is the 21st century’s answer to ethnic and racial diversity of the latter half of the 20th century. Montgomery County is often held as an exemplar of economic mixing at the high school level, but that is far from the case at the elementary school level. Elementary school diversity is an arguably more important metric of success than high school diversity. Children establish the academic and interpersonal skills needed to succeed early in childhood. Once students have reached high school, they have already established patterns of academic and social behavior that are incredibly hard to undo. As a community, we need to pay more attention to how the youngest students are being affected by district boundaries. Based upon data from the Montgomery County school’s website, it is abundantly clear that there is economic gerrymandering occurring in the school districts. For example, in the Northeast Consortium cluster, there is one neighborhood where the boundaries for three elementary schools (Cloverly, Fairland, and Drew) meet. What makes the case suspect is the way the boundaries were drawn. For example, if your address is in the 900 block of Windmill Lane in Silver Spring your children would go to Cloverly ES, Briggs Chaney MS, and Paint Branch HS. However, if you lived in the 800 block of Windmill Lane, your children would attend Drew ES, Key MS, and Springbrook HS. Likewise, while not as egregious, an address in the 14410 block of Fairland Road means students attend Paint Branch High School. Students who live in the 14400-block attend Blake. Unfortunately, students attending Blake (1526) score 60 points higher on their SATs than the students at Paint Branch (1464). Economic and Ethnic Disparities in Zip Code 20895 The Northeast Consortium is not the only area of Montgomery County where such disparities in wealth occur in elementary schools. Kensington is another nexus of bizarre boundaries. With a population just north of 19,000, the zip code 20895 has five potential elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools. Kensington, however, is an area where high schools start to matter. Depending on a family’s exact address on Farragut Street, students would either attend the coveted “W” school of Walter Johnson or the stigmatized Down County Consortium School of Albert Einstein. Students attending Walter Johnson score, on average, 200 points higher on the SAT than students attending Einstein. A 200-point difference can dramatically affect college acceptances and then future work opportunities. While the economic disparities disappeared in the high schools of northern Silver Spring, the disparities do not disappear in Kensington. Students who attend Rock View Elementary School and Oakland Terrace Elementary School both attend Newport Mill and feed into Einstein. They stay in the range of 40% FARMS rate. However, their across-the-street neighbors would attend Kensington-Parkwood Elementary School and then Walter Johnson, both with a FARMS rate of less than 10%. Amber Lesniewicz Beyond the different FARMS rates across the Kensington schools, the borders separating the districts are seemingly arbitrary. The most curious boundaries occur with the lower FARMS schools. Both Kensington-Parkwood and Rosemary Hills/North Chevy Chase Elementary Schools have “islands” of populations that are far from the main body of their catchment areas. Garrett Park’s catchment area resembles a misshapen number 8 with odd outcroppings attached. The very shape of these boundaries calls to mind political gerrymandering along party lines. Unfortunately, these boundaries are more malign and affect children and families for generations. Severe Economic and Ethnic Disparities of the Rockville/North Bethesda Clusters Elementary Schools The economic and ethnic gerrymandering are abundantly clear along the cluster of elementary schools that fall along Rockville Pike, Viers Mill, and Randolph Road. Table 3 demonstrates the economic disparities of five schools in this region. All five of these schools border each other. However, the disparities are stark. For example, Farmland Elementary School has a 6.9% FARMS rating. It shares a boundary with Twinbrook ES, which has a FARMS rate of 70.0%. Additionally, Wheaton Woods ES, with a FARMS rate of 83.3% borders Garrett Park ES with a FARMS rate of 17.1%. The differences between those schools’ economics are astounding. Table 3 reflects the economic and ethnic make-up of the schools. To be more equitable, there should be more natural boundaries like roads and rivers. That is not the case for these elementary schools High Schools With major roads such as Connecticut and University and natural boundaries such as Rock Creek, it would be easy to separate the high schools. However, that is not the case. When examining the boundaries of Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Albert Einstein, and Walter Johnson, families living on St. Paul Street in Kensington must look at their house number to determine if they are to attend Einstein or Walter Johnson. What’s even more curious about the drawing of boundaries between Einstein, Walter Johnson, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase is that Georgia Avenue serves as a clean border between the Northwood feeder schools and the Einstein feeder schools. However, there are islands and inlets like a jagged coast. Other boundaries in the region with artificial boundaries includes the Walter Johnson-Wheaton border. As it stands, the border is an arbitrary straight edge separating Walter Johnson from Wheaton. This border does not make sense when there is a potentially “clean” and natural boundary created by Rock Creek. The Northwood High School boundary includes homes for students who are closer to other high schools (e.g. Montgomery Blair High School) than they are to Northwood, due to “creative” cutting of boundaries. The most egregious boundary is that of Wheaton High School. Wheaton’s boundaries look like a frog shape with two additional islands that are in no way touching the main catchment area of the school. There is something inherently wrong with the districting if there are three other schools that could possibly serve as a student’s school, yet the school zone that s/he has been zoned for is miles away. Amber Lesniewicz Lasting Effects of Economic Disparities in Schools While the economic and ethnic differences at the elementary school level are stark, the most troublesome effect is the overall school Star % Rating when students reach high school. Study upon study has indicated that the economic achievement gap closes in elementary school and middle school. This is indicated by star ratings for the elementary schools.All of the elementary schools in Table 3 received a 4+ star rating. However, once the students get to high school, the achievement gap opens wide. Based on Maryland data for the 2017-2018 school year, of the schools that share borders, the wealthiest schools (Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Walter Johnson) had 5-star ratings. The remaining schools were all three stars with Kennedy High School coming close to a 2-star rating. These ratings are not necessarily a reflection of the overall quality of the school. However, what it does indicate is that the students in these schools are facing challenges that their peers at the wealthier schools are not facing. Additionally, with these schools receiving lower ratings, families who are looking to move into the area may shy away from these schools because of the “stigma” attached to the rating. As a result, the overall value of property drops in the region, which, in turn will lead to more economic homogeneity. As a long term consequence, families who live in those districts will have overall lower levels of wealth in comparison to their peers in the adjacent school district. This pattern will continue the poverty cycle and affect the citizens of Montgomery County for decades to come. Conclusions Based upon this research, it is clear that boundaries need to be redrawn to better reflect the changing demographics of Montgomery County. Montgomery County is consistently described as one of the most diverse counties in the country. As such, the schools should reflect that diversity. As it stands, students are pigeon-holed along ethnic and economic lines. Study after study shows that students who are from low-Socioeconomic status households benefit from being around high SES students. Additionally, studies have shown that high-SES students do not suffer from any academic loss. To show a true commitment to diversity within the county, the boundaries should reflect the population of the county, and not just the pockets and ethnic enclaves that currently exist in the county. .

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