UPPER WEST SIDE — The population of black students at Upper West Side schools has dropped drastically over the past decade while the number of white students has risen significantly — a shift parents and education officials attribute to the area's growing affluence.
Since the 2003-'04 school year, blacks have gone from representing 38 percent of District 3's student population to just 24 percent, Department of Education data shows.
During the same time period, the percentage of white students in the district has increased from 20 to 32 percent, the data shows.
The trend has followed a predictable path, with the white student population ticking up each year as the black population has decreased in the district, which runs along the West Side between West 59th and 122nd streets.
The racial makeup of the 21 elementary schools in the district is a good indication of the way the neighborhood is changing, as students at those schools are "zoned" into them based on their proximity.
At all but two of the elementary schools in District 3, the percentage of black students has decreased over the past decade, in some cases dramatically.
For example, at P.S. 87 on West 78th Street, an elementary school known for its popularity and long wait lists, the black population dwindled to just 4 percent this year from the 22 percent figure it had as recently as 2006, DOE data shows.
From 2003 through the first part of 2006, the black student population at P.S. 87 held steady at 22 percent, but started to dip during the 2006-'07 school year.
Further uptown, at P.S. 84 on West 92nd Street, the overall population at the school has grown while the percentage of black students has declined — from 34 percent during the 2005-'06 school year to just 14 percent this school year.
By comparison, the Asian student population has grown incrementally over the same time period, from 5 percent during the 2003-'04 school year to 8 percent this year, data shows. The Hispanic population has stayed at 35 percent over the past four school years, with only a 1 or 2 percent drop from previous years.
The Alaskan/American Indian population has bounced between representing 0 and 1 percent of the total population.
Parents and education officials said the shift is evidence of a changing neighborhood that's seen steadily rising rents and home prices that force families out of the area or city altogether, in addition to new demographics moving in.
But the schools and their approach to attracting students are not to blame, said Joe Fiordaliso, president of Community Education Council 3.
"This is a real estate issue, not a school issue, and we shouldn't confuse the two," he explained.
"If we want to see the rich diversity of our district spread more evenly, the city should increase the percentage of affordable housing units required in every new residential tower built."
Avery Brandon, a local mother with a child at P.S. 166 on West 89th Street, said her section of the neighborhood, from West 86th to 97th streets, has seen "a huge increase in affluence overall."
P.S. 75, on West 95th Street, has noticed its overall population decrease along with its black students, added PTA co-president John Decatur.
Families are either moving out of the city or a "significant portion" are choosing charter schools instead, he said.
"To counter this we are thinking about how to better market our school and we are hoping that our catchment zone can be increased," Decatur explained.
"Our efforts to increase enrollment will certainly be aimed at increasing our numbers of black students."
The two elementary schools that have seen their black student populations increase over the years — P.S. 76 and P.S. 180 — have counted historically large black student populations, DOE data shows.
Both are located in the northern half of the district, at or above West 120th Street, and have black populations that represent more than 60 percent of their students, along with a handful of other schools that count similar percentages of black students.
"Segregation is as high as ever," CEC 3 member Olaiya Deen remarked to her colleagues at a recent meeting.
The change in racial makeup of the neighborhood and the clustering of black students is something parent advocates have wrung their hands about but has no solution for, given that geography dictates attendance at the elementary school level.
The CEC does have the power to redraw the zoning lines of the district, but another group is advocating the council consider doing away with those lines altogether and redistributing students in a way that creates more diverse schools.
The CEC has not formally considered this plan yet, but advocates plan to bring it to them for a vote in the coming months.
The Department of Education did not immediately respond to request for comment.
