{"id":11440,"date":"2025-10-22T16:11:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/11440\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:11:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:11:18","slug":"lower-merions-racial-achievement-gap-has-widened-since-the-%e2%80%b290s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/11440\/","title":{"rendered":"Lower Merion\u2019s racial achievement gap has widened since the \u203290s"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Pennsylvania\u2019s wealthiest and best-performing districts, the Lower Merion<\/a> School District has billed itself as a leader in tackling racial inequity: from convening a committee to address how race affected its schools in the late 1990s to becoming one of the first local districts to prioritize closing achievement gaps in its strategic plan in 2009.<\/p>\n

Yet those gaps between Black students and their peers persist \u2014 and have only widened since the district committed to closing them.<\/p>\n

Fifteen years ago, Black students in third through eighth grades trailed white students by 28.4 percentage points in English language arts standardized tests, and 28.5 points in math. In 2024, the difference in English scores had grown to 33.4 points. In math, the gap widened to 42.4 points.<\/p>\n

Administrators who presented the latest test results in December said they were well aware of the problem. \u201cWe know people are asking us questions about it, and we own it,\u201d Scott Weinstein, acting assistant to the superintendent, said during the school board meeting.<\/p>\n

Lower Merion is not an anomaly; other suburban districts<\/a> with similar shares of Black students \u2014 9% of Lower Merion\u2019s students are Black \u2014 have also seen their gaps widen, according to an Inquirer review of historical test data.<\/p>\n

But its response has alarmed and frustrated Lower Merion\u2019s Black parents, who say even though the district spends more on its programs than almost any other school system<\/a> in the state, it is not delivering the same caliber of education for all children. Some fault racism and teachers who are not culturally competent or who maintain low standards for their children. Others see an unwillingness to make wholesale changes that could upset white parents, who they feel are prioritized by the district.<\/p>\n

Nigeria James, who has one child in the district and another who recently graduated, is among those parents questioning the sincerity of Lower Merion\u2019s efforts. She sees a disconnect between the district\u2019s public statements and how it interacts with Black parents \u2014 failing to connect the dots, she said, between individual test scores and a systemic problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt what point do they stop and look at how effective their approach is? Clearly, it\u2019s not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Small, affluent districts, oddly\u2019<\/p>\n

After progress was made in the 1970s and \u201980s, efforts to shrink the Black-white achievement gap have stalled across the country. The gap has not changed much in the last few decades, said Sean Reardon, a professor at Stanford University\u2019s Graduate School of Education.<\/p>\n

The segregation of Black students in high-poverty schools and socioeconomic differences between Black and white families have traditionally driven the divide, Reardon said, though \u201cthe places with the largest Black-white gaps tend to be small, affluent districts, oddly.\u201d He cited Berkeley, Calif., and Evanston, Ill., as other communities with significant gaps.<\/p>\n

Lower Merion officials did not address why they think the district\u2019s achievement gap has widened over the years, but noted the gap \u201cexists in nearly every school district in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locally, several other Montgomery County<\/a> districts with similar shares of Black students \u2014 Colonial, North Penn, and Wissahickon<\/a> \u2014 have Black-white achievement gaps ranging from 28 points to 42 points, based on 2024 test scores. In Cheltenham, which is majority Black but was also an early leader in school racial equity efforts, the Black-white achievement gap is 34.8 points in English and 42.8 points in math.<\/p>\n

Lower Merion\u2019s efforts in addressing racial disparities date back to at least 1997, when a group of Black parents raised concerns. Among their complaints: Black students were disciplined more often than white students, were overidentified as needing special education, and were underrepresented in gifted classes.<\/p>\n

The district that year formed the Committee to Address Race in Education (CARE), which continues meeting monthly with teachers, administrators, parents, and community members.<\/p>\n

Asked what steps it had taken since, district officials provided a list of strategies, from reviewing student data more frequently and providing individualized supports to offering more early childhood education, including extended-day kindergarten for students who showed a need. (The district launched universal full-day kindergarten<\/a> this year.)<\/p>\n

Lower Merion has also sought to make its curriculum more culturally relevant<\/a>, with all resources reviewed \u201cto ensure they include diverse voices, perspectives and representation,\u201d the district said. It also said professional development is \u201congoing, with all staff receiving specific training in cultural proficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both \u2018personal and institutional\u2019<\/p>\n

Linda Heller, who has advocated for Black students receiving special education in Lower Merion for 25 years, believes the disparities are a product of how administrators and teachers perceive Black students. In a predominantly white district \u2014 6% of teachers were Black<\/a> in 2020-21, while 90% were white \u2014 staff make assumptions about Black children and \u201cdon\u2019t even know they\u2019re doing it,\u201d said Heller, who is white.<\/p>\n

Heller said she had worked with a child who was recruited by the Haverford<\/a> School; that school\u2019s testing revealed he had a 130 IQ. That was a surprise to his mother, who said Lower Merion had never recognized he was gifted, Heller said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey look at the kids who are bright as unusual,\u201d Heller said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the \u2018norm\u2019 for Black kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jelani Wilson, who is Black and graduated from Lower Merion in 1995, recalled how his mother had to battle to get him into honors English. Warned that he could get a C, Wilson said, she asked, \u201c\u2018So no one gets a C in honors classes?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a white student, it\u2019s \u2018a challenge.\u2019 For Black students \u2026 it\u2019s, \u2018They\u2019re going to struggle,\u2019\u201d said Wilson, who said things have not changed, based on recent experience working in the district and as a current district parent. \u201cThat\u2019s a lot of the way the biases creep in, both personal and institutional.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are additional struggles for Black students in the minority in an advanced class, Wilson said. It\u2019s intimidating to participate if you\u2019re afraid not just of being wrong, but also that \u201cyour being wrong goes to invalidate your presence as a Black student,\u201d Wilson said. Students may feel it\u2019s safer to be quiet \u2014 a \u201cpsychologically corrosive\u201d situation, he said.<\/p>\n

Wilson, who worked as an instructional aide at Harriton High School before leaving in 2022, said some Black students in the school\u2019s International Baccalaureate program told him they felt isolated.<\/p>\n

He understood, having encountered \u201call of my most visceral experiences\u201d with racism while in Lower Merion schools. With his own children, Wilson\u2019s oldest did not attend elementary school in the district, but entered later, when he had already developed self-confidence, Wilson said. His son graduated with a full ride to Howard University.<\/p>\n

His younger child, meanwhile, stopped wanting to go to school in second grade. Eventually, she told Wilson why: She was uncomfortable around a white student who had been repeatedly touching her hair.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s daughter told him she didn\u2019t want to tell her teacher, because she thought she\u2019d get in trouble. \u201cKids aren\u2019t stupid,\u201d said Wilson, who believed his daughter\u2019s instincts were probably right. When Wilson informed the teacher \u2014 and said it was problematic that his daughter was afraid of speaking up \u2014 she did not acknowledge that concern.<\/p>\n

Instead, she moved his daughter to a different table. \u201cThat was the end of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

More IEPs, fewer APs<\/p>\n

In a report submitted to Lower Merion school officials in September, the Main Line<\/a> NAACP noted one-third of Black high schoolers, and 27% of Black elementary schoolers, had individualized education plans for special education; about 20% of Lower Merion students districtwide receive special education.<\/p>\n

Black students, while representing only 9% of district enrollment, account for 30% of its disciplinary actions, the NAACP report said. It also noted that in 2021, 25% of Black high school students in the district were enrolled in Advanced Placement courses, compared with 65% of their peers.<\/p>\n

Loraine Carter, an author of the report who moved to Lower Merion in 2002 and formed a Concerned Black Parents group that brought a lawsuit in 2007 alleging that Black students were improperly classified<\/a> as special education students, said there is a link between disproportionate placement and other outcomes.<\/p>\n

For instance, Black students in special education are more likely to be disciplined, she said.<\/p>\n

Special education is \u201cthis door where we go in and don\u2019t come out,\u201d said Carter, whose three children attended district schools. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2011<\/a>, ruling there was no evidence of discrimination. Some parents then brought individual complaints against the district, which were settled privately.<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Conservative parent group accuses Lower Merion of discrimination because of its \u2018affinity groups\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Inequalities \u2018people aren\u2019t even conscious of\u2019<\/p>\n

Disparities like those reported by the NAACP can reflect how a district\u2019s equity mission is \u201cdisconnected from the practices that are actually happening and everyday social interactions people have in the context of the school,\u201d said John Diamond, a sociology and education policy professor at Brown University, who wrote Despite the Best Intentions: How Inequality Thrives in Good Schools.<\/p>\n

Diamond said how districts track students into higher-level classes and administer discipline<\/a> \u201ccan reproduce inequalities people aren\u2019t even conscious of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among local districts with similar achievement gaps, a spokesperson for the Colonial School District called its gap \u201cconcerning\u201d and said the district offers interventions including small group instruction, tutoring, and summer learning programs.<\/p>\n

North Penn Superintendent Todd Bauer said that while his district\u2019s gap was historically smaller than the state average, \u201cwe must ask ourselves \u2018why\u2019 and work to ensure that all students achieve at their highest potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diamond said districts should be analyzing practices like how course placements are decided. \u201cIs it racialized teacher recommendations, influential parents\u2019 interventions, or tests with outcomes correlated with race and class?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Black and Hispanic students in Philly suburbs are disciplined more harshly than white peers, underrepresented in AP classes, report finds<\/a><\/p>\n

Even though Lower Merion teachers recommend whether students should take higher-level courses, district officials said any student can enroll, as long as the prerequisite courses have been completed. They also said there are opportunities for students to take more-advanced math classes, even if they do not initially place into them.<\/p>\n

The percentage of Black students in high school honors classes has been growing since 2020, the district said, from 55% to 68% last year. It also pointed to standardized test data showing that Black students last year scored above or well above for growth in most subjects.<\/p>\n

Regarding discipline, district officials said they follow a student code \u201cthat emphasizes uniformity, fairness and due process\u201d and, when possible, pair discipline with a \u201crestorative approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials also said CARE and other committees provide a forum for students and parents to voice where improvements are needed.<\/p>\n

Carter, of the Concerned Black Parents, said CARE\u2019s focus \u201chad evolved into more of a conversation along belonging \u2026 vs. \u2018Here\u2019s our plan\u2019\u201d for fixing the achievement gap.<\/p>\n

\u2018A white place\u2019<\/p>\n

Wilson sees the problem as bigger than the school district. \u201cLower Merion is a white place,\u201d and racism in the broader environment permeates the schools, he said. He noted the pain felt by Black families during school board debates this fall around the district\u2019s equity policy, when Jewish families objected to remarks by the board\u2019s lone Black member contrasting anti-Black racism<\/a> with the experience of Jews, who she said \u201cchose to be white.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment you identify an issue of whiteness, that represents a fundamental threat,\u201d Wilson said. He said the debate and subsequent demands for antisemitism training<\/a> spoke to the \u201csense of ownership white parents, of any religious background, have over the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

James, who moved to Lower Merion from Los Angeles in 2011, said she had high hopes for her two daughters, given the district\u2019s reputation. But despite monitoring their grades and attending parent-teacher conferences, she felt she didn\u2019t know how well they were faring. It was not until middle school, she said, that a teacher shared concerns about her older daughter\u2019s writing.<\/p>\n

Now that her youngest daughter is a senior, on the verge of graduation, \u201cI can\u2019t say this was a great move for my family,\u201d James said. She doesn\u2019t think the district is operating with urgency when it comes to improving Black students\u2019 achievement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wool is pulled over people\u2019s eyes,\u201d she said. \u201cThey trust and believe in a system that\u2019s not working for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Pennsylvania\u2019s wealthiest and best-performing districts, the Lower Merion School District has billed itself as a leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186,9000],"class_list":["post-11440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township","tag-lower-merion-school-district-racial-achievement-gap-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}