Our school has been predominantly Black & Latinx for yearssss. Corner of the city. Under-resourced. So-called low-performing. But now we're a magnet school w/ magnet funds and a bunch of new resources. At the same time, the city is gentrifying. This is a complex, difficult combo/

Our school transformation happens to be occurring at the same time as our city’s gentrification. Families of color are being displaced and—separately—our school is becoming a magnet with new resource & opportunity. Separate and unrelated but fatefully intertwined/

We have parent tours and it’s the most awkward thing—groups of mostly-white families come in to my senior class of 100% students of color. Every once in a while the class bursts out in nervous laughter when the visitors leave because it’s just so…discomforting/

I wouldn’t say our school is pandering to white families and I know the magnet grant wasn’t designed to displace anyone. But the context of gentrification looms large. I can’t blame kids for wondering if this is, as one student put it, a “white takeover” of our school. /

The fact is we *have* to recruit. Our school's DOPE yet enrollment is at an all-time low. The district has already closed several elementary schools and it’s bound to shut a high school soon. We need numbers and right now the numbers pouring into the city are not Black & Latinx /

How do we survive declining enrollment and transform into a vibrant high-performing school without catering to privileged families and losing sight of our community or history? How do we assure folks that we’re not selling out? How do we MAKE SURE we don’t sell out for survival?/

We have a future to sort out and it begins with us having honest conversations about what’s happening. Those convos should center the voices of our students, alumni, and community. /

In a perfect world we wouldn’t have these crazy home prices. Our community wouldn’t experience this displacement. The neighborhood school (us) would have been high performing a long time ago. But this world is many things, and perfect ain’t one.