Frustrations mount as racial achievement gap persists in Madison schools
Tim Comer says when his son moved from a mostly black magnet school in Chicago to the Madison School District in 2006, “he went from sharp to dull.”
Comer, 45, a black father and unemployed electronic engineer, said the difference was that Madison was “laid back” while the Chicago school pushed students to work extra hard to succeed.
“In Chicago he was always a frontrunner,” Comer said. “But here, he’s always on the back burner.”
Comer’s dissatisfaction is shared by many black parents in Madison where, despite decades of efforts, a significant gap persists between white and black students’ academic performance and graduation rates.
Although the gap is closing among students completing algebra by the 10th grade, it has widened on 4th grade reading tests and in high school graduation rates since 2003. Those changes have come as the number of black students in the district has increased and the number of whites has declined.
“We know that we’re not pushing the needle significantly,” Superintendent Dan Nerad said about what he considers “the most significant social justice issue in America.”
