The District thinks the proposed Student Assignment Plan will have a big effect on Graham Hill's demographics. I'm not entirely clear why, and I certainly don't believe they always predict accurately. But this feels important.
The graphs are here, on pages 4 and 7: http://bit.ly/18OOpU
It used to be that Graham Hill was demonstrably the most racially diverse elementary in Southeast Seattle. I don't know what's happened in other schools, but in the last three years our diversity index has increased some more, from 3.35 to 3.58. According to district projections, our index would drop back a little, to 3.46. They think there would be fewer black and white students, more asian and latino students. So while the school's racial makeup would change, the evenness of our diversity wouldn't change very much.
Another change would be in the number of students in the free & reduced lunch program. Up to 70% from the current 55%.
And there would be more bilingual students, up from 20% to 29%.
Again, I have no strong faith that the District demographers can predict this stuff accurately. But intuitively I guess it feels right. Graham Hill's demographics are influenced by the neighborhood's, but also by a system that favors families who choose and have the wherewithal to advocate and make their choice happen.
