Some African American parents and educators question the continued use of race in school assignments. Charlotte-Mecklenburg parents say many black children have been forced to leave their neighborhoods for desegregation. In a four-block radius off West Boulevard, for example, black children are sent to six elementary schools. Angelia Fryer was one of the first black students to attend Myers Park High School, and she credits desegregation with putting her on track for college. Now she's principal of Briarwood Elementary, which is predominantly black.
Fryer suggests giving parents more choice in school assignments.
Those who value desegregation should have the opportunity to transfer their children into more diverse schools. Those who don't should be able to opt for their neighborhood school. The fight for desegregation Other parents and community leaders counter that giving up desegregation practices would damage the city and its neighborhoods and children in ways that would take years to measure. If busing ends, the inner city would house the most impoverished schools in the system, the Observer's study found. A 1995 study in St. Louis showed students who left violent or troubled neighborhoods for white, suburban schools were nearly twice as likely as their peers in city schools to complete high school.