A high school in Evanston, Illinois, is offering segregated classes for black and Hispanic students.
The “affinity classes” do not allow white students and are taught by non-white teachers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly 200 students were scheduled for the “affinity” math and writing courses.
“Our Black students are, for lack of a better word…at the bottom, consistently still. And they are being outperformed consistently,” said Monique Parsons, the school board vice president for Evansville.
Evanston Schools Superintendent Marcus Campbell told the high school’s student newspaper that the affinity courses are designed to “provide a different, more familiar setting to kids who feel really anxious about being in an AP class.”
The affinity courses come as one of Evansville Township High School’s district goals is “Recognizing that racism is the most devastating factor contributing to the diminished achievement of students, ETHS will strive to eliminate the predictability of academic achievement based upon race.”
The high school is 44% white, 24% black, 20% Hispanic, and 5% Asian.
