Greg Abbott wrote:
So, let's stipulate for the record that DeLaSalle is an excellent, amazing, divinely-inspired school that saves thousands of kids from the clutches of poverty and crime.
My knowledge of De La Salle is about 10 years out-of-date so perhaps others, like Ms. Carlson, will correct me. But De La Salle's mission has nothing to do with saving kids from the clutches of poverty and crime. First and foremost, De La Salle is a Catholic high school. The major reason that the overwhelmingly majority of De La Salle students attend De is because they and their families choose a religious education over a public education. All students, Catholic or not, are required to attend religion classes daily. Other classes, including sex ed, social studies, and English, include a strong Catholic bias. If you have never been to De, it is a Catholic place - there is a crucifix in every classroom as I recall.
Secondly, De La Salle is a college prep school - it offers traditional courses for college-bound students. I am unaware that De La Salle gives any student a "free ride" - that is, a 100% scholarship. Financial aide was typically equal to 10%-20% of tuition. This was not restricted to lower income families like a single parent with one child at De - upper income families with 4-5 children in Catholic schools/colleges also received financial aid. Today, De La Salle states that 55% of its students receive financial aid. If this is $1000-$3000 off a tuition bill of $8000-plus, clearly, these are not impoverished families. Until De La Salle is more forthcoming with the amount of financial aid given to students, I suggest that De students be considered affluent - even the lesser income families have enough disposable income to afford thousands of dollars of private tuition per year. The De La Salle website states "Students with low academic ability or a history of behavioral difficulties should seek a more specialized learning environment." De La Salle only accepts applications from students with average or better test scores and grades. Then, it picks those who are admitted.
Per De La Salle, "minority" enrollment at De is about 40%. At what point do these kids get to be "private school kids" - an elite in our Minneapolis society?
At 40%, there are about 240 "minority" students in the total De student body of 600. We assume that "minority" means African, African-American, Asian, Native American, and Hispanic/Latin. And not solely European-American. I suspect that when De La Salle says this, De is trying to point out that the student body is integrated and diverse. But in a racist society like ours, the buzzwords "minority students" indicate some sort of problem, some sort of special need, some sort of Otherness. How about this: the "minority" students at De are as middle and upper class as De's other students and they attend De because their choice is a Catholic education or a small private college-prep school. As with all other devoted families who consider a religious education important and like all other families affluent enough to devote thousands of dollars a year for a private school education, the De La Salle students, all of them including the "minority" students, are part of an elite group. Students who desire to take college course while in high school are ill-served by De La Salle (though I've heard there is a way to do an end-run on this and get in through the local high school.) Advanced placement courses at De used to cost extra fees, paid to a Catholic college - these were over and above tuition.
The De La Salle college prep program actually offers less challenge and less opportunity than some public school programs such as IB programs and a few other magnets within the MPS; South, Southwest, and Perpich Arts in general. Larger schools simply have more resources; the public schools have working relationships with local colleges for the PSOE program, and Advanced Placement testing does not require a hefty fee. We've also learned this summer that De La Salle is probably not the school-of-choice for kids who are primarily soccer and boys football players - other high schools have equal or better facilities.
De La Salle succeeds where it always has - providing a Catholic college-prep education for the students admitted who are able to pay all or most of the cost of their Catholic high school education.
Shawne FitzGerald Powderhorn Former De La Salle and South High mom REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
