I thought Jelani Cobb’s piece about the shutdown of Jamaica High School was a very pleasant and informative read. Having lived in Queens for about five years, I’ve been consistently fed the idea that Jamaica is a poor, disgusting, and dangerous neighborhood with a terrible hospital and a second-rate school. It seemed that the only valid reason to be there is for court-related manners (postponing jury duty in my case). I was therefore shocked to hear that Jamaica was, not too long ago, in a very different state and had a reputable and also largest high school in the United States.

In large part, I agree with Cobb and the people quoted in his article. The major cause for the lack of diversity in NYC schools ties back to the lack in diversity in the surrounding neighborhoods, just as Arthur Levitt states. For that reason, I would like to know more about the the Bloomberg administration’s decision “to allow students to attend any high school in the city,” and specifically its results. The article touches upon this, and it’s very similar to what was mentioned last class on rent regulation, but taking advantage of this new initiative requires some effort and savviness on the part on parents. Cobb’s mother, through different means, was able to have her children attend Jamaica High School because she had an understanding of its worth. While the Bloomberg initiative addresses the issue, and may very well produce positive results, it comes as an unfair disadvantage to students whose parents cannot or are unaware of how to “play the system.” The article also mentions special high schools for high achieving students, which is particularly relevant to me, as I attended one of NYC’s specialized high schools. In a very broad sense, it seems that top performing students of local high schools are skimmed off and taken in by specialized or admissions based high schools, which then lowers the graduation rate of the initial local school. I do not think that the lower graduation rates contribute anything to the conversation besides providing a factor contributing to the rate drop. Taking a step back and viewing the NYC education system as a whole, I do not believe that the graduation rates differ significantly depending on whether or not these special high schools exist. It’s a fair assumption to say that students leaving to attend special high schools will graduate high school no matter which school they attend. So the graduation rate drop is not necessarily, or at the very least not totally, tied to the performance of the school. It is also due to a shift of students (on a graduating path) from one school to another. I would also like to see the diversity within these special schools. My anecdotal evidence points to an apparent lack of diversity within specialized high schools in particular, with my school being predominantly white, and the neighboring specialized high school being predominantly Asian. I’m interested in seeing if my beliefs and assumptions line up with reality.