The Virginia city has one of the widest achievement gaps in the U.S., and a ProPublica/New York Times analysis shows that white students there are about four times as likely as black students to be considered gifted.
by Annie Waldman, ProPublica, and Erica Green, The New York Times
This article was produced in partnership with The New York Times.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — High school seniors Zyahna Bryant and Trinity
Hughes have been friends since they were 6 years old, raised by
blue-collar families in this affluent college town. They played on the
same T-ball and softball teams and were in the same church group.
But like many African-American children in Charlottesville, Trinity
lived on the south side of town and went to a predominantly black
neighborhood elementary school. Zyahna lived across the train tracks on
the north side and was zoned to a mostly white school, near the
University of Virginia campus, that boasts the city’s highest reading
scores.
In elementary school, Zyahna was chosen for the district’s program
for gifted students. Since then, she has completed more than a dozen
Advanced Placement and college-level courses, maintained a nearly 4.0
average, and has been a student leader and a community activist. She has
her eyes set on a prestigious university like UVA.
“I want to go somewhere where it shows how much hard work I've put in,” said Zyahna.
Trinity wasn’t selected for the gifted program. She tried to enroll
in higher-level courses and was denied. She expects to graduate later
this school year, but with a transcript that she says won’t make her
competitive for selective four-year colleges.
"I know what I’m capable of and what I can do,” Trinity said, “but
the counselors and teachers, they don’t really care about that.”
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Source: ProPublica
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