I just really liked this quote and it reignites my desire to find a good public school for Ayrie…

Students accept difference of all types. One mother told me how her young son developed alopecea areata, an autoimmune skin disease which resulted in his hair falling out when he was in 1st grade in a very diverse school. The principal let him wear a hat, even though there was a no-hat rule. Finally, he just took the hat off and didn’t care. Not one student noticed he didn’t have hair. “The kids just saw this kid is brown, this one is black, this one has a turban, and this one has no hair,” his mom said. “I took him to a few conventions so he could meet other kids with the same condition. We heard horror stories about reactions of students in other schools, including special private schools. I came away with a real appreciation for the power of a diverse classroom. I could not have paid for him to go to any school in the country to have a better experience than he did.

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/news/index.php?item=1156&cat=3

Catalyst Chicago, June 2003

• chicago school choice