Diversity of students rises across Pennsylvania, including in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties, data show

Diversity in children in school districts in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties is on the rise, data show.

One in three Pennsylvania children are children of color, with four of five school districts having a higher share of children of color than in 2009, according to data based on estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey from the past five years.

“I think it’s been increasing over a long period of time,” said Carlotta Paige, co-founder and co-chair of the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition. “There’s a lot more mixed-race relationships going on than we acknowledge … but I think it’s been going on for a long time, so I don’t think it’s as new as people think it is.”

Split into four age groups — newborn to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 — school districts between Westmoreland and Allegheny counties ranged in growth based on age.

Four Westmoreland County districts saw increases in children ages 15 to 19, including Greensburg Salem (6.6%), Hempfield Area (7.1%), Derry Area (16%) and Franklin Regional (9.4%).

In Allegheny County, however, three schools saw a decrease in children of color between ages 15 and 19, including: Duquesne City (4.7%), Wilkinsburg (13.3%) and Allegheny Valley (4.1%).

The county saw six districts with increases — Brentwood (13.7%), West Mifflin (18.8%), Steel Valley (25.3%), Penn Hills (16.4%), Gateway (22.5%), McKeesport (11.3%) and Fox Chapel (12.7%).

Some of those same districts did see a decrease in children of color up to age 4, data show, including Hempfield (5.9%) and McKeesport (4.3%). The largest decrease in Westmoreland County up to age 4 was at Jeannette City School District, which saw a decrease of 29.4%.

McKeesport made the top five list for seeing an overall increase of more than 11% in black or African American populations.

“I think it’s wonderful that it’s more diverse, but … the school districts need to have a more diverse faculty and staff,” Paige said. “Those kids need to be able to relate to people like them. I think it’s important that the staff and faculty understand those cultural differences in those kids.”

Across the state, children of color have increased by almost 6%, while the percentage of adults of color has increased by almost 4%, data show. More than 405 school districts across the state, out of 500, saw an increase in the population of color.

All races — Hispanic or Latino, multiracial or other, Asian and black or African American — saw increases across the state, with the largest increase in Hispanic or Latino children (3.5%) since 2009.

Children identified as multiracial saw an increase of more than 2%, followed by Asian children (0.8%) and black children (0.3%).

The biggest issue, Paige said, stems from a countywide issue for all races — keeping young professionals in the area.

“If we have youth that are non-minorities leaving, why not expect that the minorities will leave as well? I think a lot of it is that the rich culture heritage of Westmoreland County is the reason why people leave,” Paige said. “People don’t want things to change and people of color don’t feel welcomed necessarily, so I think that we have to change a little. I think we have to be more accepting; I think we have to make our differences our strengths.”