Our Experience as a Black Family in a Mostly White Montessori School: An Interview

How does it feel being a black parent with children going to a predominantly white school? How does it feel when a black parent feels she has to justify to her friends why her children go to a predominantly white school? There is a feeling of loneliness in a population when no one speaks to you. It’s like walking a thin line while trying to build relationships with parents from other races when they seem unapproachable. ​



Shinell McBee
Hello, my name is Shinell McBee. I was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. I have obtained my undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in psychology and education from Norfolk State University and I am currently working on my graduate degree at Norfolk State University to become a school counselor. I have always had a passion working with children. I work for Norfolk Public schools as a Behavioral Interventionist working with middle schoolers. With everything else I am a wife and mother of two children ages 8 and 12.
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The Virginia Montessori Association is a non-profit (501(c)3) that was established in 2015 to bring Montessorians in Virginia together and to offer a community from which we all could benefit.  Administrators, educators, parents and other supporters can connect, inform and communicate in a way that is of value to all.