"After all, Bethesda is not diverse at all—there are very few kids of color leaping down the hallways of Burning Tree." This statement is astonishingly inaccurate.

Delia & Joe : Please give proof of the diversity. There are AfrAm student? Vietnamese? Cambodian? Laotian? Korean? Pakistani? Indian? Colombian? Cuban? Mexican? Belizean?

This school is in one of the highest income areas, if not the highest, in Montgomery County, regardless of the diversity of its population and is one of the highest performing academically.

A few statistics from MCPS:

The percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch is 4%, and the school is 62% white.

Let's compare that to Beall Elementary in Rockville, where my youngest children went. 35% white and 25% eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Or how about Oakland Terrace, where my oldest daughter lived when we resided in Silver Spring. OT has 40% white and 33% eligible for free and reduced lunch.

I am sure Dr. Starr will understand the problems facing other MCPS parents and students are likely to be different than what his own children encounter.

I do not get the issue here. Who cares what color the skin or hair or eyes of the kids at the school are?

likunta:
Your comment:
"Jeff: So the school website says that? I have toured. And majority of waht I saw was all peach not shades of brown."

Ummm....yes that's what the school website states. Have you got an issue with "white kids"?

http://rockville.patch.com/users/lilkunta

lilkunta: From the link above I can see how active your are in your comments and opinions on many topics.

I'm not a journalist. It's not my job to prove that Burning Tree is diverse. I know from experience. My children go to Burning Tree. Mr. Hawkins embarrasses himself by not reporting accurately.

In my son's first grade class, I read the class a book about money. Then I asked the class if any child knew the name of a different currency. There were 8 different currency names mentioned by first graders because they were from other parts of the world, including Europe, India, Asia, Australia and Africa. My children do not differentiate people based on the color of their skin because there are so many skin tones at Burning Tree, it's seems normal to them that everyone is different. There are also many different heights so my children don't judge other children's ages based on their heights, either. I feel lucky that my children are in such a diverse environment. It teaches them to see through appearances to what really matters, each child's unique gifts.

Perhaps you like controversy for it's own sake.

Burning Tree is one of the least diverse schools elementary schools in MCPS. I already cited some numbers. There are a few that have a greater percentage of whites but not many, and they are mostly all in the same area. They also trend way below average in free and reduced lunches.

I AM a journalist but there is no need to prove anything. And Mr. Joseph Hawkins isn't wrong, and I admire that he tried to tackle this topic while acknowledging this is his home school.

The facts prove themselves.

Countywide, the average elementary school is 33.2% white and has 33% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch. ESOL is 22%. Contrast that with Burning Tree: 11% ESOL, 62.5% white, 4.0% free/reduced lunch.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/elementary.pdf

Delia, feel free to highlight my comments as well as I also am "active in my comments and opinions on many topics."

lilkunta,
Your comment:
"jeff:Did u read my reply. The school website may say that but the reality is not that.
I have no issue with anyone. It is a fact that the school is not diverse. Im not surprised that Starr chose that school. He wants the best for his kids as all parent do. And with this high salary ($250K; plus his wife works as well right?) he/they are able to afford to live in Bethesda."

I did read your reply and my comment would be, what's your point? The school does enjoy the beneifts of diversity. I suppose the question here is.....is diverse enough to suit you? That seems to be crux of this conversation.
Yes he and his wife make good money.....I sense abit of jealousy here......I could be wrong though. What exactly would you have liked to see Mr. Starr do with his kid's?

The point? Does it really need to be made again and then maybe we are done here? Dr. Starr chose one of the most privileged, whitest, richest, least diverse schools in the county system. No matter how you want to spin it, this is the truth. I sense a bit of defensiveness here...as Joseph Hawkins said...let's keep it real. Sure, that's his choice if he can afford it and no one knows what went into his thinking.

But he is the school superintendent, and his children's experiences are not going to be reflective of most of the rest of the county.

It seems like some of the comments here are using a very narrow meaning of the word diverse. They seem to believe the only measure is the color of one's skin. I can tell you that "white" is not a single culture. There are white people all over the world with vastly different cultures, languages and backgrounds. The same holds true for other skin colors. A white person and black person who grew up in the same area certainly have more in common than a black person from the U.S. and one from a nation in Africa. Knowing the percentage of white children at a school tells you very little about it's diversity. Frankly grouping children by the color of their skin and rating a school by it sounds like racism to me. I do not think the practice is hateful but it is a bit misguided.

lilkunta:
Your comment:
"Jeff: If you read my comment then you'd know my point.
I'm jealous you say? Of course another ad hominem attack."

Oh noooo! Not another "ad hominem attack" against you. Sadly you appear to be the recipient of more "ad hominem attacks" than anybody, either that or you just have a thing for that phrase.
I did read your comment and my question is still this, what's your point? and one more question, what is it "exactly" that you would like to see Mr. Starr do about his place of residence and where he sends his children to school?

lilkunta:
Your comment:
"Your concern is not needed. Online everyone talks big.
My point is stated and has been stated up above. Scroll up.
Starr needs to do nothing. He is rich so he did what rich people do."

Honestly....I'm not concerned, just suggesting that everyone who disagrees with you is accused of an "ad hominem attack". I'm hoping your comment that everyone Online talks big includes yourself.
So Starr needs to do nothing? Then again I ask.......what was your beef about.....the fact that he is "rich" and does what "rich" people do. That comment in itself speaks volumes......

jeff: No beef here. My point is up above.

Having read all of these comments, sounds to me like (1) some people are concerned that Mr. Starr may not understand their concerns or those of the "typical" MCPS student because Burning Tree has different demographics from the typical MCPS and (2) others object to expressing this concern as Burning Tree lacking diversity.

Personally, I don't think these are inconsistent ideas -- why can't Burning Tree be very diverse in terms of having a wide-ranging, international base of students, representing many religions, social beliefs, cultural attitudes and skin colors, but still not be very representative of the county's demographics in that there are fewer people who can't afford to buy lunch and that it is still more "white" than most other schools (even if many of the "white" kids were born in England, speak an eastern European language at home, had ancestors killed in the Holocaust, etc.)?

At the end of the day, the critical concern is whether Mr. Starr will be understanding of and attentive to the needs of students and parents who may be different from his own children or him. And, in my own experience, the answer to that depends entirely on Mr. Starr's character, and not on his wealth, skin color or where he sends he kids to school.

"But he is the school superintendent, and his children's experiences are not going to be reflective of most of the rest of the county."
I disagree. In the most fundamental way, all children in MCPS experience the same education: one that is tightly focused on achievement of MSA scores rather than learning and understanding. Dr. Starr has articulated this problem within MCPS repeatedly by pointing out the need to define success in terms more robust than test scores, the need to have curriculum that addresses the whole child including social and emotional learning, and the need to address the "adult learning" problem (confusing the ends with the means and confusing achievement with learning) that is masked as a "student learning" problem. Dr. Starr's experience with MCPS is well-rounded and his observations are spot on. His children's experience will be improved when he brings improvement to the general educational model of MCPS.

I think you missed my points and you are speaking with hindsight on his performance so far since he came here. These comments were written last July, nearly a year ago so it is unfair to judge them now.

I understand if, as a newcomer, that you don't see the difference between the problems faced by children, parents and staff schools at the low and middle economic end of the spectrum, and the Whitman cluster. I am not saying there are not similarities.

I am not judging the past comments, simply reflecting upon them in light of what we now know. And any newcomer cannot help but see the differences among MCPS schools, despite the MCPS group-think that all are equally splendid and world class. I didn't have to go looking for the obvious, it came to meet me with every resident I met, every social event we attended, every publication we read. The funniest thing is the MCPS PR that invalidates the community observations and experience so persisently..."see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"...

Your purpose in commenting on this old thread is baffling to me and then to use my comment as a broadside gainst MCPS isn't appreciated. "What we know now" doesn't change what kind of schools are in the Whitman cluster, compared to the rest of the county.

The old thread is still a live conversation, and my purpose is simply to continue the community conversation and focus it on the need for changes in MCPS that enable and value quality education over achievement scores. I have no intent to misuse your commentary and I'm sorry you felt I did so. Nor did I invalidate your point regarding the schools in the Whitman cluster; that certainly is as valid today as it ever was. Let's hope that the community and Dr. Starr and the BOE can pull together to work effectively on the fundamental improvements needed. We have to get the core structure and purpose of education right before we can effectively tackle all the other issues that rest upon that foundation.

The post wasn't about the need for changes in MCPS. It was about the incoming superintendent's purchase of a house. Old news, old thread...it hadn't been active since August. I am sure you can find others that are more "alive" and appropriate to posit your positions.

Your personal prerogative, and mine as well.

Mine final comment on this thread: you picked it up by objecting to my comment. If you're trying to pick a fight, please pick someone else.