If you're a white student and you arrive at the public elementary school building on 95th Street and Third Avenue, you'll probably walk through the front door. If you're a black student, you'll probably come in through the back.

So reported the Village Voice on one of New York's best-kept secrets: its public schools are some of the most segregated public schools in the country. The schools have two tiers: one for affluent white families who pump private funds into THEIR kids classrooms, and another for largely minority, poor communities-- underfunded, underserved and overcrowded: 43% have severe space problems, and the recession ensures that no help is in sight. GRITtv went to  Donna Nevel, an advocate for fairer schools in New York, for her take.