The Paradox of ‘Nice White Parents’

My View

All parents want what’s best for their children. But who gets to decide what’s best? At AASA’s 2021 National Conference on Education, a pair of public radio journalists masterfully unraveled this hard question for those of us watching and listening.

Chana Joffe-Walt is the reporter and Rachel Lissy an assistant producer of an acclaimed five-part podcast “Nice White Parents.”

The journalists originally set out to examine pervasive segregation in the New York City public schools. But as Joffe-Walt chronicled her journey examining options for her own school-bound child, a deeper narrative emerged. It wasn’t higher test scores or shiny new objects that mattered most in these predominately poor schools. Instead, the influence of white parents drove the reputation of a “good” versus “bad” school.