'Separated And Unequal'

PBS Frontline did a piece called “Separated and Unequal” based on the school systems in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The upper-middle class of the Louisiana capital wants to create their own city to have more control of the school system. Lionel Rainey is the spokesman for the new city St. George. Rainey strongly believe Baton Rouge has some of the worst schools in the county and that no one is being education. What Rainey fails to realize is that he has a powerful platform to change the schools within the city they are in, instead of petitioning for a new city to start over. He should use his platform to petition for better board leaders to fix these “horrific” schools. Clearly, Baton Rouge school boards are lacking management of their schools.
Board leaders are responsible for looking out for the students; providing safety, management, programs, and adequate education for the tax dollars spent. During the “Separate and Unequal” documentary, they introduce Woodlawn High School where there had been 61 arrests in 2013. Where is the security and safety the board is supposed to allocate? Woodlawn High has special programs for gifted and talented students so, if the board was to do their job vigorously and not just doing it to get paid, Woodlawn would be an A-rated school with an addition to their orchestra, marching band, advanced placement classes, and popular football team. In or out of Baton Rouge, without a city’s school board education, any school will decline.