Home schooling draws more blacks

Parents frustrated by Maryland schools find appeal in ability to incorporate culture, religion with academics

By Rona Marech

Sun reporter

Originally published January 23, 2006

{Excerpted}

When Shawn Spence first moved to Baltimore, she enrolled her eldest children in what she believed was one of the best public schools in the city.

But before long, her daughter started bringing books from home to read while the teacher worked with less advanced pupils in the crowded fifth-grade classroom. Spence’s first-grader sat with his head on his desk while the harried teacher dealt with behavioral problems.

Spence said budget cuts brought an end to foreign-language instruction and meant one teacher had to juggle both physical education and art classes at the school, which she declined to identify.

The breaking point came when Spence brought her loquacious 3-year-old to the public library for a story hour with other preschoolers. When his enthusiastic questions and comments during the story were shushed, Spence had an unsettling vision. She feared that when her son hit school age, he could be tagged as having an attention disorder and unfairly burdened with the sort of negative profile that she believes the schools disproportionately attach to black boys. (more…)