Widening Latin's portal
A DRAMATIC and unanticipated jump in minority admissions at Boston's most prestigious high school calls for more than a round of congratulations. School officials can now determine if there is a relationship between specific academic enrichment programs and a 31 percent jump in the number of black and Hispanic students invited to Boston Latin School.
In 1999, minority enrollment fell sharply after the city retreated from a legal challenge to a 35 percent set-aside for black and Hispanic students, and has generally hovered at 16 to 18 percent. But this year, about one-quarter of the 460 students who met the strict requirements for Latin School are black or Hispanic. Academically, that is no small victory in a city struggling to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. The healthy bump in minority enrollment also reinforces Latin School's reputation as a place where low-income students can outperform students from the wealthiest school districts.
Part of this success belongs to the school department's Exam School Initiative, which scours the city's public schools for bright, motivated elementary school students and prepares them for the entrance exam. Last Saturday, roughly 200 of these fifth-graders accompanied by parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles wedged into the Latin School cafeteria to hear pitches from upperclassmen and administrators at the city's three exam schools, Latin, Latin Academy, and the O'Bryant. The stakes are highest for families living in poor neighborhoods drenched in anti-intellectualism.
''In some urban environments, it's cool to be a dummy," said Lester White, a driver from Mattapan. White said that he and his ex-wife always took care to provide a book-rich environment for their son Stanford, a fifth-grader at the Lee School in Dorchester. It has paid off in excellent grades and intellectual curiosity.
It's not enough to identify promising public school students. City officials need to ensure that their students can compete for Latin School seats with those now attending private and parochial schools. Much can be gained by examining academic histories. Seventeen of the successful applicants, for example, participated in the after-school and summer programs of the respected nonprofit Steppingstone enrichment program. Public school officials are now trying to determine how many attended their three-week summer test prep course offered each July. Once they determine what works, the next step should be to approach foundations and the generous Latin School alumni group to expand such opportunities.
