But is it really good news that District 150 has one of the highest-ranking middle schools (Washington Gifted Middle School), which has predominately white students; while also having the third and eighth-lowest-ranking middle schools (Trewyn and Lincoln, respectively) and the second-lowest-ranking elementary school (Tyng Primary School at the time it closed in 2009), all of which have predominately black students (the majority of the rest of the schools in District 150 are also predominately black).
While the news for the select few families at Washington Gifted is outstanding, the gross disparity that exists in the education of black children in Peoria does not escape me.
Click image to view column headers
Across all sections of the ISAT test, 100.0% of Washington Gifted School students met or exceeded standards, which is better than 99% of all schools in Illinois.
Some statistics (i.e., gross disparities):
District 150: 29% white; 62.4% black; 2 Asian; and 5.9%Hispanic.
Washington Gifted: 72.3% white; 12.6 % black; 14.3% Asian and .09% Hispanic.
While the comparison (district vs school) is not exactly apples to apples - the picture is clear.
