NAACP opposes TCGIS expansion

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

The NAACP opposes the proposed expansion of the Twin Cities German Immersion School.

In a statement issued in December, the St. Paul NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) explained its reason for opposition: “We believe that it will exacerbate the racial and socioeconomic segregation in the St. Paul schools.”

The NAACP sees this as a larger problem involving charter schools in general.

At the 107th National Convention in July 2017, the NAACP passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion. The resolution stated, “charter schools have contributed to the increased segregation rather than diverse integration of our public school system.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Education, TCGIS’ student population is 87% white, 13% students of color, and 7% low-income (qualifying for free-or-reduced-price lunch). In contrast, the surrounding school district, St. Paul Public Schools, is 21% white, 79% students of color, and 68% low-income.

“Expansion of such a predominantly white and relatively wealthy charter school in the heart of the city would frustrate efforts to desegregate St. Paul schools and contribute to further racial and socioeconomic segregation,” the NAACP stated.

“The concerns of local educational policy are highly germane to the decision-making of any city governmental body. Racial and socioeconomic segregation in our schools is the responsibility of all government officials to eradicate, and it is certainly their obligation to avoid any decision to make things worse. Education has a special place in our society. The Minnesota State Constitution singles out education to receive special protection and requires unique obligations by the state to provide an adequate education to all students. Courts since Brown v. Board of Education have found that segregated education is both unconstitutional and immoral.”

The NAACP urged the Planning Commission and all other city officials involved to reject the proposed expansion and prevent further segregation of local schools.”

The St. Paul NAACP is part of a national network of more than 2,400 branches of the NAACP in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The NAACP has more than 500,000 members and is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons, and to protect constitutional rights.