Oxford and Lafayette County each have their designated school districts, the Lafayette County School District and the Oxford School District. By comparing the demographics of each section, we can analyze if there is discrimination against children from low income households in the schools within each district, as well as the educational level and performance of both the majority and minority groups.
The total population of Oxford is 43,224. Out of this, 10,700 residents are employed in a white-collar job and 6,542 in a blue-collar job. There are 21,268 family households; the average household income is $58,532, the median home net worth is $381,091, and the average sale price is $179,916. Compared to Lafayette County’s median home net worth of $326,503 but sale price of $60,207, and an average household income is $47,460. Lafayette has 86,157 residents, of which 1,443 have white-collar jobs and 965 blue-collar jobs.
The educational level of Lafayette County and Oxford residents are demonstrated by the following charts:
Oxford has a higher percentage of degree holders, which contracts the poverty percent for the Oxford School District in comparison to Lafayette. In 2015, Oxford School District had a 19.9% poverty rate, and Lafayette had a 15.9%.
For this article, I chose to analyze the major high school in each district. Both of these schools are Title 1 schools. A Title 1 school is a public school with a high percent of children from low income families which receives funding from state and educational agencies.
They also share a high percentage of students who receive a free or reduced lunch. To qualify for a free lunch a child’s family income must be under $15,171 (that’s 130% below the poverty line), to qualify for a reduced lunch a family’s annual income must be under $21,590.
Oxford High School has 4/5 stars and an 18.7 student to teacher ratio. It has a 47% proficiency rate. There are 1,142 students enrolled, 42% of which qualify for free/discounted lunches. There are 54.6% Caucasians and 36.8% African Americans. There is an 85% graduation rate, 92% of Caucasian students and 82% of African American students. Only 52% of the students passed an AP Exam and the ACT composite score was 22.2. Caucasian students have 91% proficiency, while African American students only have a 37% proficiency.
“Noticeable Readiness Gap between Ethnicities at Oxford High School
Since there is a 10% separation in graduation rates between Caucasian students and African American students, this school has demonstrated a noticeable inability to prepare students of different ethnicities for opportunities after high school. Importantly, this school has only reported graduation rates for the two ethnic groups shown in the graph.” (http://public-schools.startclass.com/l/51142/Oxford-High-School-in-Mississippi)
Lafayette High School has four out of five stars and an enrollment of 772 students, 54% of which qualify for a free or discounted lunch. The student to teacher ratio is 15.1. 70.2% of students are Caucasian and 25.7% are African American. The percentage of Caucasian graduates is 82%, compared to that of 74.5% for African Americans.
In Lafayette School District, more black students have learning disabilities than any other race. This reflects the norm for Lafayette county but does not reflect the norm for Mississippi as a whole, as a whole, white student have the highest learning disability rate (14.6%)
The above data proves that there are not equal opportunities for the children in LOU, specifically those from low income households. By raising awareness of housing equality, our community will succeed and hopefully one day not have the Title 1 label put on our schools and be able to provide an equal learning environment for the youth of LOU.
Hyperlinks/Sources
