Education in Black and White

The NY Times Sept 22 story about a controversial rezoning of New York City public schools notes:

"Research has found that minority students who attend integrated schools perform better academically and go on to earn higher incomes and have better health than minority students who attend segregated schools."

My children attend an integrated public school, so let me shed some light on this.  It doesn't come as any surprise to me that minority children to better in classes with white kids.   My son who started to shine academically has been spending hours and hours helping his friends with their homework.    My daughter who's still in middle school was recently drafted to tutor other students in math after school.  

There's no magic formula explaining why my children are in a position to do this.  My wife and I tutor them and every summer our children go to summer school to brush up on their math and science.

We consider it a bless having that our children go school with children from different backgrounds and cultures.   Is it necessary for black children to go school with white children to succeed academically?   No.  What all children need is enough teachers around to help children who need help with their assignments.    We also need a longer school year so that every child can benefit from the extra opportunities that my children have.  

These are far from the only improvements to education we need to make, but they're a good start.