Standard of quality incomplete

As one of the reported seven college-educated Duke parents at E.K. Powe Elementary, I was on one level amused by the Dec. 6 article, "Professors send children to private, Chapel Hill schools." Yes, it was mean of me to chuckle at the insinuation that Duke faculty and their children are snobs. It's more complicated than that.

Even when I hear those folks disparaging our public schools, I can't help but think of what they are missing, and what our schools lose through their flight. It's ironic that while Duke contributes to our schools through a variety of initiatives, including the Duke-Durham Partnership, its faculty reinforces the town-gown divide by separating their children from those of different racial and socio-economic backgrounds.

No doubt this abandonment is due in part to the elitism of the educated. But a lot of other forces contribute to the perception that urban schools are not good enough for their kids, including "quality" measures that focus only on test scores (without explanation of those scores and their meaning), racial stereotypes, educational bureaucracy and water-cooler gossip. It doesn't help when the media takes the "low quality" label at face value, without looking at what's really happening in the schools.

I send my kids to Powe because, plain and simple, public schools are one of the few places in our polarized communities that can bring everyone together. How are our kids supposed to solve the world's problems if the only place they're exposed to difference is in the checkout at McDonald's?

I have never once regretted a decision that was for me a no-brainer: sending my children to a school we could walk or bike to, with some of the smartest, most energetic and caring teachers anywhere. There are plenty of supplies, the latest books, an innovative math curriculum, computers in the classrooms. What's the difference between Powe and the private schools? Is it the color and family income of the children sitting next to my kids? In my experience, that difference is not a hardship but a gift. Among other things, I hope it insulates my kids from arrogance and elitism.

I don't think either of my children will ever be so out of touch as the Duke freshman you quoted: "I bet the two [public] high schools in Chapel Hill have more sum intelligence combined than the eight in Durham."

My kids know the difference between money and intelligence. They learned it at school.

Allison Rice