"In Cambridge today, if there's an overt victimof racism, I think it's the Haitian community andother linguistic minorities," she says. "They'reenrolled in schools where they're isolated inbilingual programs."

The presence of the Spanish bilingual programat the Longfellow School contributes to the factthat 35.5 percent of its students are Hispanic,which is considerably higher than the average of14.2 percent among all Cambridge elementary-schoolstudents.

However, in order to maintain a balance betweenwhite and non-white students, this concentrationof Hispanic students necessarily limits thenumbers of other minorities in the school.Consequently, the percentage of Black students,15.1 percent, at the Longfellow School is lessthan half of the elementary-school average of 30.6percent.

Similarly, the King School--which houses theKorean and Chinese bilingual programs--is 16.1percent Asian, over twice the Cambridgeelementary-school and population average. The highnumber of Asians at the King School contrasts withthe situation at the Fletcher, Kennedy and MaynardSchools, which are each less than 1 percent Asian.

The relatively high number of Asians in theKing school may contribute to thedisproportionately low number of Hispanicstudents, 7.1 percent, that are enrolled in theschool.

Economic Disparity

Alves says that while Cambridge was fairlyracially integrated in 1981, the schools were"highly segregated by social class"--a situationthat although improved, still exists today.

The socio-economic disparities between thevarious elementary schools shows in the number ofstudents in each school who are eleigible for freeand reduced lunches. For a family of four to beeligible for free lunch, they must make less than$17,420 a year. To meet reduced-lunch guidelines,a family of four cannot earn more than $24,790 ayear.

Nearly 50 percent of all Cambridge elementaryschool students receive free and reduced lunch.But four elementary schools fall more than 20percentage points away from that mean. At theHarrington and Kennedy Schools, more than 70percent of the students receive free or reducedlunch. But only 16.9 percent and 28.9 percent ofthe students receive such aid at the Agassiz andTobin Schools.

The Neighborhood School

Observers say the criteria used to assignstudents to schools contribute to the differencesin the economic and racial make-up of individualschools.

After the initial consideration of race,Cambridge's current system gives placementpriority to students who live near the school orhave older siblings there, according to Albert H.Giroux, public relations director for theCambridge School Department.

This becomes a problem because some parentschoose schools that are near-by or have alreadysent their older children to schools with acertain reputation and are unwilling to branch outand try new schools.

"Closeness is a major factor when parentschoose schools," Linda J. Rings, theearlychildhood resource specialist at the MorseSchool says. "Lots of people still love the ideaof the neighborhood school."

Michal Jasienski, a resident tutor at WinthropHouse, says proximity was the only factor heconsidered in choosing the King School for hisson.