State's schools get more diverse

This shows the changing minority percentages in Maryland schools, now the white students are the minority (48%) and there are as many as 48 languages in some schools. This diversity is becoming more common in many urban areas. DP

African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians outnumber whites in overall enrollment
By Liz Bowie | Sun reporter

baltimoresun.com: The faces of Maryland's public school children have quietly been changing over the past several years, and minorities - primarily Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans - now outnumber white students in the state.

Maryland public school enrollment data show that 48 percent of the students in the state's 24 school systems are white. African-Americans represent 38 percent of the school population, Hispanics 8 percent and Asian-Americans most of the remaining 6 percent.

The shift officially took place in 2004, after both a decline in the number of white students and growth in the number of minorities. But schools have been adapting to the change over several years - expanding classes for non-English speakers, bringing in translators for parent nights and creating smaller classes in schools with large numbers of minority students.

At Dumbarton Middle School in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Baltimore County, 48 languages are spoken, and the school population is 38 percent minority.
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