Economic Integration works.... in Raleigh NC anyways.

The New York Times has an article concerning Raleigh, North Carolina's efforts to economically integrate it's schools. The school system in Wake County North Carolina tries to strike a balance between rich n poor in its schools. They try to have no more than 40% of its student base in any one school, being from poor families. To achieve this they bus folks all over the county to various schools to meet this balance. They believe, correctly, that if you mix poor folks with more advantaged folks, that many of the good habits will rub off. The proof is in the test scores. All the kids are doing better, substantially better.

The big difference between Raleigh and Peoria is that District 150 does not cover the whole county. Plus.. Peoria being right on the county line, we also have to contend with Tazwell and Woodford Counties. It is still something worth looking at. It raises the question about how beneficial having fractured school districting is to the overall community. How many school districts are in Peoria County alone? 2, 3, 4, + ? Add in Tazwell and Woodford and well... we have segregation by economic class and race. District 150 suffers for every economically advantaged person that flees. When these less advantaged kids grow up... disproportionately they become problems to the welfare system, the criminal justice system, and a drain on society. Yes that is a loaded statement. Some poor kids make it to success but the reality is, poor folks tend to raise kids that end up poor too. Poor kids benefit from seeing and learning the good habits of those who know them. Growing up in a more balanced school improves their chances of finding success when they grow up. It takes a community to raise a child to be successful.