Advantages of Attending a Racially Diverse School?

In Athens, where most of the population is white, the public school system is more than 60 percent minority. This statistic routinely prompts some white families to flee to private school or into neighboring counties, like Oconee, which is less than five percent black.

Before you put your house on the market or take out a loan for that tuition payment, you might want to attend a talk this Thursday night at the Chapel. If it doesn’t change your mind, it will at least give you pause.

Professor Robert Garda, a member of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and an expert in education law, says attending a diverse school can be a good thing for white students by preparing them to navigate and succeed in a multi-cultural world. They gain both academic and social advantages in diverse schools.

Garda's paper on the subject, The White Interest in School Diversity, was recently published in the Florida Law Review. It will form the basis of his talk, which is sponsored by the UGA Education Law Students Association.

According to a press release on Garda's visit,"Integrated schools, however, help de-bias white children and teach them cross- cultural competence, a skill they need to effectively participate in a market with increasingly multicultural customers, co-workers, and global business partners."

After his public lecture, Garda, a graduate of the law school at Duke University, will give a seminar on Friday in the College of Education from noon to 1pm. in Room G-5 of Aderhold Hall. Sponsored by the COE Dean’s Council on Diversity, the seminar is open to the public.

To read Garda's article, “The White Interest in School Integration,” click here.