Like other Boston residents, I have been perplexed at the degree of controversy surrounding our best public school, and the misleading analysis in local media, such as The Boston Globe. Underlying the race-relations controversy is the complaint that Boston Latin has a “diversity problem,” that it doesn’t represent our city’s racial demographics.
What are they talking about? The City of Boston’s racial balance, according to public data, is roughly 45 percent white, 24 percent black, 19 percent Hispanic, 9 percent Asian. Boston Latin’s racial balance is: 47 percent white, 8.5 percent black, 11.6 percent Hispanic, and 29 percent Asian. This is actually a good match for Boston’s children, except that it is more Asian and less black and Hispanic than the broader population. However, let’s look at the rest of the Boston school system, which is: 14 percent white, 35 percent black, 42 percent Hispanic, and 9 percent Asian.
It is the rest of the public system that is failing to match the demographics of our city. But who gets the blame? Boston Latin, even though this majority-minority school is one used by a broad racial cross-section of the city.
Critics of Boston Latin think the school shouldn’t represent those of us who live here, but those in the rest of public school system, which so many of us don’t use. Their fallacious logic is that the kids who get into Boston Latin are only subset of the broader public system. They don’t know that in the minds of a lot of Bostonians, Boston Latin isn’t considered part of the broader school system. I’ve heard many parents like me, who would never use BPS, say, “Sure, I’d use Boston Latin.” In fact, many apply to Boston Latin, and when they don’t get in, they use a private school instead. The fact that there are so few excellent schools in BPS, making it a Latin-or-nothing decision, is the fault of the system, and not the white and Asian-American parents who want their kids to have the best education. To make this more clear, if the broader BPS was far better, more white and Asian-American parents would probably use it, making the demographics of Boston Latin and the rest of the system far more similar, and Boston Latin wouldn’t have to do anything to get the representation that critics want.
Critics also make noise about application numbers, such as the number of Hispanic student applications going up, without increasing acceptance numbers. This kind of data is hard to interpret and is not a de facto sign that there is discrimination. Lots more kids apply to Harvard these days — who could never get in — than ever before. More kids than ever just throw their hat in the ring. But that thousands more apply doesn’t tell you anything about who was qualified to get into Harvard. I am sure many parents just apply to Boston Latin as a longshot.
Another odious implication of the Boston Latin criticism is quite clear: there are too many Asian-American kids. Boston Latin seats are a zero-sum game, any move to establish quotas will mean fewer Asian-American students. History shows this. When quotas were struck down at Boston Latin 20 years ago, white students did not benefit. In fact, their numbers stayed the same. It was Asian-American students whose numbers soared, not through quotas, but because of their achievements.
Pundits and critics have characterized this as a white-versus-black problem with echoes of segregation and old busing controversies, but that is incorrect. It is about the achievements of Asian-Americans, displacing black students in Boston Latin seats. And if it is a problem that the number of black students at Boston Latin is lower than the proportion in the entire city, how is it not also a problem that the number of Asian-American students is far greater?
I see Asian-American kids achieving so much in Boston, and I am always impressed by their performance at the Boylston Chess Club, where they dominate among the child players. They will do great things for our city, and I hope to see a lot more as future leaders, like Boston City Council President Michelle Wu.
However, Asian-American families across the country have recently realized that their dreams will be the collateral damage in the black-and-white framing of diversity in education, and they are already acting against colleges who are discriminating against them to increase black and Hispanic enrollment. I’d hate to see them also be discriminated against at Boston Latin, when they have worked hard and met the standard.
This controversy begs the question: what is Boston Latin supposed to be? The point of having exam schools is that the best students, regardless of anything other than their ability, will have the best education. This will both promote social justice and improve the future of our city. Exam school seats are not meant to be a reward that is handed out to whatever the demographic makeup is for the rest of the system.
Though I am homeschooling my children here in Brighton, I want Boston Latin to continue to be a symbol of the best in public education. I hope it inspires reform and change across all Boston schools. Even my kids will have to compete with Boston Latin students one day. (We’ll see you at the National Spelling Bee, kids!)
Maybe my oldest daughter will one day apply to Boston Latin. If one of the Asian-American chess whizzes I know beats her out for a seat, he earned it. I am sure that kid, like my daughter, will be headed for great things.
Ed Lyons
Ed Lyons is a computer programmer who lives in Boston with his wife and three kids. He homeschools his children, but his tax dollars still attend the Boston Public Schools. Read his past columns here.
(Courtesy of Wikimedia) 
