In a new series, Ask INDY, we invited readers to submit their questions about Durham Public Schools (DPS) for Chase Pellegrini de Paur to answer. Chase’s write-up is published online and on page 4 of this edition. One reader shared her thoughts on how we characterized reader-submitted questions about the school lottery process in that article:
From reader Samira Wellemeyer by email:
Regarding the DPS questions, I want to challenge the third bullet point about “how to get your child into the best possible school.” This framing is what makes families treat school lotteries like life or death situations and they flee to charters if they don’t get what they perceive to be “best.” It also frames school choice as an individual choice that families make with the best interest of THEIR CHILD at the forefront.
Instead, you should be asking “What can we do to make all DPS schools as successful as possible?” or “What can we do to help DPS provide services to ALL children in the district?”
Public schools are a public good; the purpose is not to serve individual families, but the entire community. Your phrasing of the question perpetuates the view that public school is a service that is meant to cater to their specific needs over the good of the general community—a sentiment commonly voiced by the most privileged members of our community. So, it’s not surprising that the comments you received on Reddit and in your survey reflect that view—but the INDY should be thoughtful and provocative enough to challenge that framing instead of accepting it as a fact.
For the most part, families who view DPS from this perspective will be well-served by at least one of the schools in their region. But because they have been conditioned to expect “the best school” they hang their hopes on whatever school they think that is (likely an opinion influenced by word of mouth reviews from families in their social circles, not informed opinions about the schools or careful consideration of what services/offerings their child would actually benefit from) and if they do not get the lottery placement they think they deserve, they flee to charters and don’t look back. I would say good riddance, but the truth is that DPS would be better off if they stayed, not just from a financial perspective but also because they are obviously invested in their kids’ education and if they used that energy to invest in DPS, the system would better serve all families, like the public good it’s meant to be.
TL;DR: Do better, INDY. Don’t just regurgitate school choice talking points.
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