By all accounts, third grader Edmund Lee, 9, is a budding genius at Gateway Science Academy in St. Louis, Missouri. He has a GPA of 3.83 and excels at math, science and languages, but despite this fact he is now facing a serious disruption in his education because of his race. His parents moved outside the school district and wanted to continue his education at Gateway Science Academy but have been told a decades old segregation law prevents him from attending the school.
Although the school does have a transfer program, Black students are not allowed to participate in the program because of a law regarding school desegregation. The school board has stated that their hands are tied because of the legislation and admit that Edmund is a bright student. In response, his mother, La’Shieka White, has started a Change.org petition to bring attention to her son’s plight and to call for the law to be repealed.
“Children from the school district where we are moving are allowed to enroll in Gateway Science Academy as long as they don’t identify as African-American. These guidelines were put in place by the state and are unfair for my child who has been going to the school since kindergarten and has been excelling. Not admitting Edmund simply because he is African American is just wrong. My son loves his school, friends, and teachers. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should not deny my son admission based on his race,” White’s petition reads.
The petition has gathered over 48,396 supporters for Edmund and is growing toward its goal of 50,000 but there is no word on whether this will have an effect on his transfer. Surprisingly, some White students are also barred because of the same issue of race when transferring to another school district. Gateway Science Academy Assistant Principal Janet Moak stated in response that the school would be open to having a debate around the transfer system and changing the rules if necessary.
So far there has been no official response from the school district regarding Edmund Lee’s status.
