 
Cmubryan
Member
Username: Cmubryan
Post Number: 645
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2008 - 11:53 pm: |    |
I was just browsing around the schoolmatters.com website and looked at the most recent racial breakdowns of local school districts. I found out some pretty interesting info, for example:
Southfield and Oak Park now have a larger black percentage (93-94%) of students than Detroit (89%), I believe Detroit's hispanic percentage grew since last year.
West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills both now have about 20% black makeup and 10% asian/indian making for school districts that are now less than 70% white. My elementary school in West Bloomfield now is less than half white at 48%, 38% black and about 12% asian.
Bloomfield Hills remains 78% white and less than 10% black, Birmingham at 83.8% white/5.8% black, Livonia at 87.5%w/6.2% b
This is all evidence that the northwest movement continues and Farmington and West Bloomfield will be the next Southfield, South Oak Park while the surrounding areas will probably not shift as much. Similar to whats happened to Royal Oak, Berkley, Hazel Park that haven't had the population shifts like their counterparts have had. |
Steelworker
Member
Username: Steelworker
Post Number: 1202
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 12:18 am: | |
But why are you pointing this out? Is it to make everyone aware of their changing neighborhood or to point out diversity being spread. Are you possibly pointing out the expanding exodus of people from Detroit? Also oak park district is an open enrollment. Many of the people in the area do not send their kids to school in the district. Why do you believe that it will not happen to the other surrounding areas? It is changing in the district I went to (east detroit) and others. |
Cmubryan
Member
Username: Cmubryan
Post Number: 646
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 1:08 am: | |
I find it interesting how certain areas further out from the city may become diverse faster than some closer in areas. This contradicts what a lot of people think about some inner ring burbs. The same kind of thing happened in the city as far as I know. Northwest Detroit became mixed and then majority black a lot faster than northeast or southwest Detroit. Please let me know if I stand corrected. |
Crawford
Member
Username: Crawford
Post Number: 430
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 12:00 pm: | |
West Bloomfield will be Southfield in 15 years. Already a number of elementary schools are experiencing fast racial change. It will remain a good community, but it will be a different place.
The part of West Bloomfield that is Bloomfield Hills schools (east of Orchard Lake Road) is not changing. That part is wealthier and more Jewish and Asian, and will likely stay as-is.
The West Bloomfield school district, while well above-average, was always a cut below Bloomfield in reputation, because it drew partially from the working class, somewhat "redneck" white Keego Harbor/Sylvan Lake area. |
Crawford
Member
Username: Crawford
Post Number: 431
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 12:09 pm: | |
Cmubryan, you are correct about the faster racial changes in the parts of NW Detroit that was wealthier and more Jewish.
It was majority black by the early 70's (the schools were majority black by the late 60's), because those neighborhoods were Jewish, and Jewish neighborhoods rarely resisted racial change. The community basically would relocate en masse in the course of a year or two.
Example: Mumford went from 80% white to 80% black in maybe three or four years in the late 60's, and Ford did the same thing in the early 70's.
In contrast, the East Side and Far Northwest Side were more working class white, and those communities tended to resist racial change. It doesn't necessarily mean they were more racist. It could just be that they had fewer options and financial resources than if you lived on 7 Mile/Livernois, so you had to take a stand and fight for your neighborhood.
Example: Redford, Finney, Cody, etc. did not change racially until well into the 1970's, and it was slower than at Mumford or Ford. |
Rooms222
Member
Username: Rooms222
Post Number: 149
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 1:37 pm: | |
The one piece of the westside puzzle not mentioned was Redford and South Redford schools. It was interesting to see the two different approaches taken in these districts. Redford Union has switched to a unified system where each school has all the students in the district for two to three grades. This has led to each school being about 60-65% white and 30-35% black.
South Redford has not, and has one elementary school that is over 80% black and two that are about 30% black.....SR HS is now about 55% black.
I wonder if the Redford Union plan will slow white flight compared to the SR system. |
Bibs
Member
Username: Bibs
Post Number: 734
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 9:13 pm: | |
My son started kindergarden this year in a Troy and about 75% of the kids in his class are from foreign counties or diverse ethnic groups. Nice to see such a diverse class. I was on wikipedia tonight. I discovered that Hamtramck is the most diverse city in Michigan with 41% of its citizens being foreign born. |
Thoswolfe
Member
Username: Thoswolfe
Post Number: 91
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 10:07 pm: | |
Redford Union Schools enrollment does not represent the neighborhoods themselves.
The area around Redford Union did not have much "White Flight" Many homeowners have been there since the 50's. Their children grew up and moved on. Leaving a population with much much fewer school age children.
Faced with declining enrollment and state aid, RU started closing neighborhood schools. The only reason they switched to unified schools was a compromise with residents to keep some buildings open.
Since Detroit's population is over 80% black, Redford Union Schools enrollment may soon be also. The School Board's plan to fill their schools was to rely on students from Detroit and other communities coming in School Of Choice. Doubtful many students will defect from Livonia schools. And there are not many school age children in N Redford Twp.
South Redford's change was very rapid. When Word of Faith Church moved from Detroit's east side to the former Temple Baptist on W. Chicago, members of that huge congregation wanted to live closer to their church. Houses in that area of Redford sold fast and for more than the listing in many cases. Since the sellers were white, some call it 'white flight'But many were seniors living in homes larger than needed, and ready to retire and move to condos, etc.
Look at the total school enrollment in 1980(near end of baby boom)and every 5 years after. My daughter's class in 89' was one of the smallest ever- and the schools were struggling to find kindergarden age students every fall.
Early 90's the school population started to pick up again.
It has been a blessing for South Redford schools-their residents were also getting older and there also was fewer school age children.
(Livonia is now facing the same aging residents and declining school enrollment issues) |
Novine
Member
Username: Novine
Post Number: 849
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 11:43 pm: | |
Can someone explain why Redford has or needs two school districts? I wonder if parents tell their kids the truth? "Johnny, you're getting a mediocre educational experience so that you can have your own mascot." |
Thoswolfe
Member
Username: Thoswolfe
Post Number: 92
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 5:07 am: | |
Look how many districts Dearborn Heights has.Dates back to the old rural district days.
Redford Twp has 2 districts left from those days. Until the 1920's Redford Union was a large district,then Rosedale Park,Old Redford and Brightmoor were annexed into Detroit schools. The former RU H.S. was on Burt Rd- now Harding school, I think.
South Redford now has more of a tax base besides residential- most of Detroit Diesel and all the industrial along the RR by Schoolcraft.
Redford Union has no large taxpayers, is mostly residential and small business. Talks of consolidation have gone nowhere. Their residents want to keep the district, even near bankruptcy. S. Redford would gain nothing by consolidation- very few more students, no large property tax base, and debts from R.U. to boot.
Clarenceville Schools also has a small corner of Redford Twp, Farmington Hills and Livonia. Even the name is a reminder of the rural origins. That little district has only one large taxpayer- the (former) Livonia Mall. That district likely will end up being annexed into another district(s) |
Lmichigan
Member
Username: Lmichigan
Post Number: 6425
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 5:45 am: | |
It's not just Redford. School district consolidation in Michigan is very rare, whether it be rural areas or urban areas.
The rural districts of Morrice and Perry in Shiawassee County between Lansing and Flint tried to consolidate earlier this year. No matter what they tell you, the two neighboring communities are practically the same place. The consolidation was voted down 73 to 27, and there were no complicated racial or class issues to deal with in that one. People treat school districts like they treat Catholic parishes. These things are fiercly independent even when it doesn't make much sense. |
Gnome
Member
Username: Gnome
Post Number: 2127
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 6:11 am: | |
quote:People treat school districts like they treat Catholic parishes.
Perfect. That make sense to me. In the olden days we Resurrection kids never trusted the St. Mary's kids, we thought they were stuck up.
The St. Mary girls were cute though. |
Barnesfoto
Member
Username: Barnesfoto
Post Number: 5564
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2008 - 10:23 pm: | |
"The former RU H.S. was on Burt Rd"
Many schools in the area have the words "Redford Union Schools" on their facades....The Original Redford HS was on Grand River, across the street and east of the present RHS. An ugly public library constructed in 1980 presently occupies part of the wedge between McNichols and Grand River....but old timers will remember a Hospital that once stood there. That was an earlier Redford High School. (It was one of my earliest "urban exploring" targets.
The fact that this area used to be rural does explain the various school districts. There are a couple old buildings on Beech Road that were little more than one-room schoolhouses.
As for the integration, it's been happening slowly in North Redford for the last ten years.
(Message edited by barnesfoto on November 21, 2008) |