Of segregation and education

This is a map that's been making the rounds. It shows a dot per person in the United States, color coded to show race: orange for Latinos (don't ask about the color decision) red for Asian, blue for whites, green for African American. A comprehensive story about the map can be found here.

Scroll over to find Monterey County. No surprises there: the Salinas Valley is Latino, the Monterey Peninsula is white.

And this is relevant to my education beat because the schools with highest achievement also tend to be in the Monterey Peninsula, and schools where children are struggling in the Salinas Valley.

We all know this already -- that is, if you're not hiding under a rock. Still, to see from this perspective is eye-opening.

We're so segregated in this community. Unfortunately, the segregation translates into the type of education children get. I wonder if the new funding formula, which is supposed to give more money to low-income schools, will begin to change that.