MCPS reaches diversity landmark


Nov. 4, 2003, midnight | By Kedamai Fisseha, Robin Hernandez | 20 years, 5 months ago


The Board of Education announced that the 2003 graduating class was the final student body in Montgomery County to be majority white. The change has been attributed to increases in minority populations in select areas of the County.

Superintendent Jerry D. Weast presented enrollment predictions on October 14 in which he described the racial diversity in the down county areas. "It is a racially, economically and language-identifiable geographic area," he told the Washington Post.

In his report, Weast attempted to classify the data and interpret the trend. His classification, which he first proposed in 1999, names the affluent areas the "green zone" and the more diverse areas the "red zone." Under Weast's direction, the county has set aside $20 million for the reduction of class sizes and introduction of all day kindergarten in the red zone.

Weast told the Post that without the presence of the green zone, the red zone would be considered "a failing system."

At Blair, which is part of the red zone, statistics support the trend of racial diversity. The 2003 student body was 31.5 percent African-American, 27.9 percent white, 26.1 percent Hispanic, 14.4 percent Asian and .2 percent Native American.

More information to come.



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Kedamai Fisseha. Kedamai Fisseha sorely misses the computer lab where Silver Chips was born and is daily reborn. He is currently living and writing from London, England where he is glad for the chance to continue his participation in the organization. More »

Robin Hernandez. Robin Hernandez is a SENIOR! She works part time as a plumber. Her creative ideas to unclogging toilets have proven to be very successful, as long as she isn't too loud in the process. If you want to enlist her help but can't find her … More »

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