How Diverse Are We?
SALMA DREW | OCT. 10, 2017 | FEATURES
Photo taken by Dani Brewer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (SCPDA) — In 1865, three years after slavery was abolished in the United States, a group of African-Americans in Jacksonville, Fla. known as the Education Society founded what became known as Stanton College Preparatory School. The organization's members envisioned a school which provided their children with equal educational opportunities. Stanton’s namesake, General Edwin McMasters Stanton, was former President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War and an advocate for the rights and education of African-American students. Stanton became the first school for African-American children in Florida, and 149 years after its founding, it continues to celebrate the diversity of its students, albeit very differently from when it was first established.
According to Stanton’s mission statement, “cultural diversity increases students’ understanding and awareness of different people and cultures.” Although the faculty, staff and student body are praised for their racial and cultural diversity, the school may not be as diverse as it is made out to be, as there are discrepancies within other areas of its demographic, such as socio-economic diversity, diversity among faculty and staff and diversity within Stanton’s academic programs.
In 2017, The Washington Post ranked Stanton as the 9th most challenging high school in the United States. In addition to its academic rigor, the school is viewed as a champion of cultural diversity and tolerance, according to the majority of its student body, faculty and staff.
“When I first came here, I met a lot of people from [many] different backgrounds,” said sophomore Delia Cuevas. “We accommodate everyone’s beliefs and the backgrounds that they come from. Everyone is really tolerant.”
Stanton students come from all across the world, and clubs such as the Multicultural Student Association and Natural Hair Club encourage students to celebrate their diversity by embracing their own heritage and that of their peers. Stanton teachers also encourage students to love their culture and background.
“If we are not diverse, then we only get information from one viewpoint. We need to bring different viewpoints into the learning environment so we can be culturally diverse.”
“The day after the 2016 [presidential] election, and this meant so much to me, I had three Muslim students who came into my room, two of whom were not even my students. They asked if they could come in and pray in my class,” said Ms. Laureen Burke, a Pre-International Baccalaureate Spanish teacher. “I was in tears, because they knew this was a safe place.”
According to Stanton students, all types of diversity are vital to the learning environment. Students belong to an array of political and ideological affiliations, religions, backgrounds and experiences. These are all responsible for creating an environment in which students gain knowledge from many different backgrounds, rather than only the one from which they were raised.
“If we are not diverse, then we only get information from one viewpoint,” said Jack Kelley, the junior class vice-president. “We need to bring different viewpoints into the learning environment so we can be culturally diverse.”
Statistics from the 2017–2018 District Data Report reveal that 55 percent of Stanton students are classified as belonging to a racial minority—a value not far from the Duval County Public Schools average of 65 percent. Further examination of the study shows that 45 percent of Stanton students are white, 29 percent are Asian, 14 percent are African-American, 8 percent are Hispanic and roughly 4 percent are another race, or multiracial. In terms of race, at least, Stanton is as diverse as its clubs reflect.
Despite the racial and ethnic diversity of the school, Stanton is lacks diversity in other areas of its demographic. Students at the school are typically more socio-economically secure than students at other schools in Duval County. Racial diversity within the International Baccalaureate program appears more uniform than that of the Honors program, as does the diversity of faculty and staff at Stanton.
According to Stanton’s 2017–2018 student data report, almost 90 percent of students in the IB program are either white or Asian. While this is fairly congruous with the demographic of the school, there is a noticeable drop in the number of African-American and Hispanic students when the demographics of the Honors program are compared to those of the IB program. Though the cause of this disparity is unclear, the gap challenges the perceived racial diversity of the school.
STANTON STUDENTS IN 1972
Photo obtained from 1972 Stanton Yearbook
In addition to the the student body at Stanton, the majority of faculty and staff at the school are also white. Data from Stanton’s administration show that while 65 percent of faculty and staff at Stanton are white, only 27 percent are African-American, 4 percent are Hispanic and 4 percent are Asian. While this gap in the number of minority teachers may undermine Stanton’s reputation as diverse, the school’s administration regards the issue as something beyond their control. According to the administration, it is impossible to request to hire only one race to fill a quota, because it can be perceived as a form of discrimination. In the end, the administration looks to hire teachers who are best suited for the students, regardless of their race.
STANTON STUDENTS IN 2017
Photo taken by Katie Stevens
Socio-economically, Stanton’s population appears homogeneous as well. Data collected in 2017 from Niche, a website that allows residents to search for suitable schools and neighborhoods for themselves and their families, revealed that only 13 percent of students at Stanton are classified as economically disadvantaged. In other words, 87 percent of students do not qualify for any financial aid, such as free and reduced lunches. The results of the same report are vastly different for the majority of the district, as almost 44 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged in Duval County.
This disparity raises the question: Why are lower-income students so underrepresented at one of the highest-ranking high schools in the U.S.?
“When you are young and financially secure, you are equipped with better learning tools from the beginning,” said junior Avery Myers. “I didn’t go a single day the first five years of my life without being read to by someone, but that was because my parents had stable enough jobs to hire a caretaker. For a lot of people, though, that is not an option.”
This issue has received mixed reactions from the public regarding how to deal with it. Some people see a solution in programs intended to help minorities and lower-income families get access to resources and a good education. However, others argue the solution is to lower the requirements to enable less-advantaged students to attend the school, automatically bringing about more ethnic and socio-economic diversity.
“When you are young and financially secure, you are equipped with better learning tools from the beginning.”
For schools such as Stanton with reputations for having high standards, lowering entry requirements creates a conflict of integrity. The lack of socio-economic diversity forces potential students to choose between diversity of backgrounds within a learning environment and Stanton’s high standards.
“You can’t just give opportunities to people who are more advantaged,” said sophomore Mahmoud Elbatouty. “You have to give them to other people who are seeking those opportunities.”
Other students cite ethics as an issue, as they dislike the prospect of implementing opportunistic requirements not based on merit. They believe the effort to create a more diverse learning environment may prevent the most qualified students from being admitted into the school.
“Yes, [Stanton] should be more diverse socio-economically, but that’s going against what Stanton really is,” said senior Aaron Portell. “We are a hard school, and if students aren’t able to handle it, then they shouldn’t really be here. If there is a socio-economic problem, then we take care of that with free and reduced lunches, but I don’t think [anything] should be changed.”
Graphic by Rohini Kumar
Although lowering Stanton’s requirements is one potential solution to the socio-economic problem, many people believe the school’s rigor is what makes it unique. Stanton is known for its difficult academic program, and most students think it should stay that way.
For the students and faculty at Stanton, several possible solutions to the socio-economic problem have been proposed. Some students, such as junior RaeAnn Quick, feel the problem should be handled on the school level.
“I believe we should make a conscious decision to help [socio-economic] minorities, because there are a lot of people who are more privileged and have more access [to supplemental academic materials],” said Quick. “We need to make it more accessible for people to get the resources that they need in order to become successful.”
Stanton Assistant Principal Mr. Michael Kerr sees the problem on a much broader level. He feels the problem needs to be tackled on the school level and the community level.
“Many students do not have advantages like tutors or parents that graduated from college,” said Mr. Kerr. “There are certain things we can do as a society to help less advantaged students, like Team Up and extended day and tutoring that can help students if they need a little bit of extra help.”
Several supplemental programs are available for younger children whose circumstances do not allow them to receive sufficient academic materials which enable them to succeed in school. Team Up, for example, is an after-school program established by the City of Jacksonville in which elementary and middle school students can receive help with their homework. In addition to Team Up, the Jacksonville Public Library offers homework help and educational activities for children, so that the socio-economic issue is minimized before it reaches a high-school level and disadvantaged students have the ability to not only be accepted, but to succeed in rigorous schools like Stanton.
Once the students have been accepted into Stanton, according to the school’s administration, the staff goes out of their way to make students comfortable and prepared to succeed. The staff seeks to ensure that the environment at Stanton is as accommodating as possible.
“Our staff is so generous that they really go all out for the students if they know [about students’ various socio-economic issues],” said Stanton Principal Mrs. Nongongoma Majova-Seane. “Now and then, someone will come in and say, ‘you know, this student does not have a computer at home,’ and we do something about it.”
Photo taken by Dani Brewer
Although it varies on many levels, Stanton’s cultural diversity is undoubtedly celebrated among the students, faculty and staff at Stanton. The concept of diversity is one that must be explored through a wide range of aspects. While Stanton is diverse in comparison to the district when it comes to race, the school is more homogenous in its socio-economic makeup, faculty and staff and academic programs. The question of whether or not Stanton is as diverse as it seems cannot be resolved with a simple yes or no, but the students can agree that both academic rigor and a diverse learning environment are necessary for the school’s success.
This story appeared in Volume 34, Issue 1 of the Devil's Advocate, published in October 2017. Read the full issue here.