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Politics & Government

School Officials, Families Meet About Brentwood Deseg Program

Although administrators outnumbered parents present, participating families and the school district remain pleased with the transfer program that has 115 African-American students from St. Louis City enrolled.

Natasha Winfield is so pleased with the education her 5-year-old son, Nile, receives from that the St. Louis City resident wants her older son, 10-year-old Anaz, to transfer from his city magnet school. 

That was one of the reasons why the community nurse and case manager attended a meeting hosted by the Brentwood Board of Education on Tuesday night: Winfield wanted to know how to arrange the transfer.

“You can definitely tell the inspiration one school gives, from the inspiration the other school gives,” said Winfield, comparing her experience with St. Louis City and Brentwood schools.

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Nile, who attends kindergarten at McGrath, is more optimistic, more hopeful than his older brother, Winfield said.

The Brentwood School District participates in a voluntary desegregation program through the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC). Each year, Brentwood schools allow a few students from St. Louis City to enroll in Brentwood.

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The program helps to add diversity in the classrooms.

But for Winfield, her older son wasn't able to participate in the program. That’s because Brentwood wants its transfer students to start with the district when they are in kindergarten.

Students then grow up in the system and know the rules, Superintendent Dr. Charles Penberthy said. “They may have a different address, a (St. Louis) city address, but they’re Brentwood kids,” he said.

However, this stance also puts responsibility of the academic success or failure of the VICC students squarely on the shoulders of the Brentwood School District. Interestingly, only one VICC student failed to graduate from in the past five years.  

Winfield is looking for a house so that she can enroll Anaz before he starts middle school next year.  

“We live in the inner city,” Winfield said. “We have a really nice house. We can’t help the neighborhood it's in.”

However, Winfield wants both of her boys to attend an accredited school with a strong reputation, and for her that means a new address — eventually.

The semiannual meeting on Tuesday night gave VICC parents face time with the board to ask questions about the program and, likewise, allows the board to update parents about Brentwood schools.

But not all of the parents had prepared questions.

To prompt discussion, the school board supplied parents with a list of 23 starter questions. The list was posted on a display board for parents to place stickers to those most important.

Eleven of the 23 questions were tagged by parents as points of concerns. And the most pressing question: What is the future of the VICC program?

“We’re talking about a VICC extension,” said Penberthy about the program that is set to cease accepting new students after the 2013-2014 academic year.  

“We’re having those discussions now. We have not made any decisions about whether or not we will extend the program, but that will not affect your children because your children are already in the program, and are in the program until they graduate.”

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