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<br>
From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:russman@gseis.ucla.edu">russman@gseis.ucla.edu</a><br>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:crplist@lists.gseis.ucla.edu">crplist@lists.gseis.ucla.edu</a><br>
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:00:33 -0700<br>
Subject: [crplist] Statement on end of diversity policy in Wake County,
North Carolina<br>
<br>
<p align="">The Price of Retreat:</p>
<p align="">Paying More for a
Divided and Less Well-Educated Community in Wake County, North
Carolina</p>
<div> </div>
<div>March 29, 2010</div>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<div>After four months of debate, a
newly configured school board voted on March 23, 2010 to end Wake
County’s
long-standing commitment to promoting racially and socioeconomically
diverse
schools. A brief glimpse into the past—or a look at school systems
around the
South no longer working towards the goal of integration—suggests that
serious,
negative consequences await North Carolina’s largest district. </div>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Decades of social science research, the experiences of
countless educators in school districts across the nation, and
subsequent legal
decisions have all confirmed a core proposition of the U.S. Supreme
Court’s
landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision:
separate is not equal in the realm of public schools. Inequality of
opportunity
persists in schools that enroll high concentrations of students of
color, which
are nearly always schools that also have high concentrations of
poverty. Such
schools are also, as a rule, less likely to attract and retain
high-quality,
experienced teachers. They are less likely to offer advanced courses to
students and less likely to provide contact with middle-class peers. <br>
</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">All of
these important factors are strongly associated with academic success
and the
exposure to networks that increase post-graduation opportunities.
Further, U.S.
public schools should prepare their students for citizenship in a
country that
will soon have a majority of nonwhite residents while also shaping
future
employees for a global economy. Racially and economically segregated
schools
are not environments that allow for students from different backgrounds
to
become more comfortable with each other and counteract stereotypes or
prejudice. Wake County has decided to put its students at a
disadvantage in all
these areas. </p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Wake County had long been a leader in understanding the
importance of diverse schools. For more than thirty years, the district
devised
and implemented policies to achieve diversity amid demographic and
legal
changes. The county began comprehensively desegregating its schools in
1976,
the same year a controversial merger plan won approval. After the North
Carolina state legislature passed a bill making it easier for school
districts
to consolidate, strong and decisive leadership pushed a city-suburban
merger
forward. Since then, the Wake County Public School System has drawn
students
from the City of Raleigh and its surrounding suburbs. This arrangement
originally promoted a racial desegregation strategy that included a
system of
magnet schools and a 15-45% balancing mechanism stipulating that
African
American enrollment at the school level should not fall below 15
percent or
above 45 percent. </p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">In 2000, Wake County officials voted to voluntarily begin
using a “race-neutral” plan that relied heavily on socioeconomic and
student
achievement factors. Based on research linking integrated student
enrollment
and healthy, good schools, Wake County school officials implemented a
policy
stipulating that no more than 40 percent of students at a given school
should
be eligible for free and reduced lunch prices and no more than 25
percent of
students at any given school in the district should have scored below
grade
level on statewide reading tests. When assigning students to schools,
district
officials balanced this commitment to diversity in student composition
with
other factors, such as the capacity of a building, whether a student
has
siblings at a school and how close a student lives to a school (e.g., a
majority of students attended a school within five miles of their
home). </p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">The history of Wake County and other southern districts is
particularly
instructive to the current situation facing Wake County. Prior to
Brown, southern states operated separate
schools for black and white students. In the hopes of maintaining the
pretense
of “separate but equal” as the Supreme Court began taking the
requirement more
seriously in the cases leading up to Brown,
districts tried to ameliorate funding inequities between black schools
and
white schools. Yet, despite those increased expenditures, separate did
not produce equal educational
opportunities. Although the post-Brown
period of reform witnessed temporary but distinct success, with the
South
boasting the most integrated schools for decades, this accomplishment
is
rapidly coming undone.</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">We, the undersigned researchers, hope for a future in which
neighborhoods and their schools will be integrated, making it
unnecessary for
children to travel to achieve diverse, good schools. The current
reality is,
however, that high levels of segregation still exist in many of our
communities. Thus, when students are assigned to schools based on where
they
live, such assignments tend to create segregated schools. This recent
decision
by the Wake County School Board will only further the trend of
resegregation
seen in other districts that have also returned to neighborhood-based
student
assignments. </p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">At a time when school systems around the country are coping
with dramatic funding cuts, Wake County’s decision regarding the
district’s
diversity plan will increase the school system’s expenses in the
short-term and
will, more than likely, add greatly to the costs per successful
graduate over
the long term. Ending the commitment to school integration may also
make the
system ineligible for federal funding specifically tied to diverse
schools. Ultimately,
the experience of other districts that have returned to neighborhood
schools
suggests that the costs of segregation will linger. Neighborhood-based
assignment plans tend to facilitate a situation where white children
access
affluent schools with multiple assets, while black and Latino students
enroll
in high-poverty, low-performing and unstable schools with few community
resources.
Furthermore, since many metropolitan areas do not have enough schools
in the
center of urban cores, and districts making decisions like Wake County
may
incur the expense of constructing new, segregated schools that often
are
subjected to achievement sanctions almost as soon as they
open—requiring even
more district resources.</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">We urge reconsideration of the decision to end Wake
County’s
diversity policy. We stand with the many parents, students, teachers,
civil
rights activists, faith leaders, and members of the business community
in Wake
County who oppose the school board's decision. In the coming months, we
offer
our support and expertise to the district as it considers how to pursue
high-quality, diverse schools that will prepare all of its students to
be
productive members of what we hope will be a more integrated Wake
County and
nation.</p>
<div>Signatories:</div>
<p align="">(affiliations listed for identification purposes only)</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Kevin Welner</p>
<p align="">Director, Education and the Public Interest Center</p>
<p align="">Professor, University of Colorado at Boulder</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Richard D. Kahlenberg, </p>
<p align="">Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Gary
Orfield</p>
<p align="">Professor of Education, Law, Political Science and Urban
Planning</p>
<p align="">University of California, Los Angeles</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Patricia
Gándara</p>
<p align="">Professor of Education</p>
<p align="">University of California, Los Angeles</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Erica
Frankenberg</p>
<p align="">Research & Policy Director, Initiative on School
Integration</p>
<p align="">Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles</p>
<p align="">University of California, Los Angeles</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Genevieve
Siegel-Hawley</p>
<p align="">Research Associate, Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos
Civiles</p>
<p align="">University of California, Los Angeles</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">john powell</p>
<p align="">Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and
Ethnicity </p>
<p align="">Professor, The Ohio State University</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Andrew Grant-Thomas</p>
<p align="">Deputy Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and
Ethnicity</p>
<p align="">Director, Transforming Race Conference</p>
<p align="">The Ohio State University</p>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;"> </span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Susan Eaton</span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Researcher Director </span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice</span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Harvard Law School </span></font></pre>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Gina J. Chirichigno </span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Researcher/Coordinator </span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice</span></font></pre>
<pre><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span
class="ecxApple-style-span"
style="font-size: 12px; white-space: normal;">Harvard Law School </span></font></pre>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Tom Munk</p>
<p align="">Senior Education Analyst</p>
<p align="">Westat</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Kirsten Kainz</p>
<p align="">Statistician/Research Assistant Professor</p>
<p align="">Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute</p>
<p align="">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<br>
<br>
</p>
<p align=""><br>
Beth Kurtz-Costes</p>
<p align="">Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies Department
of Psychology</p>
<p align="">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</p>
<p align=""><br>
<br>
Roslyn Arlin Mickelson</p>
<p align="">Professor of Sociology, Public Policy, Information
Technology, and Women's
Studies</p>
<p align="">UNC-Charlotte</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Fatimah L.C. Jackson</p>
<p align="">Professor of Biological Anthropology</p>
<p align="">Director, Institute of African American Research</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Amy Hawn Nelson</p>
<p align="">College of Education</p>
<p align="">UNC-Charlotte</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Natasha K. Bowen</p>
<p align="">Associate Professor</p>
<p align="">School of Social Work</p>
<p align="">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">M. Monique McMillian-Robinson</p>
<p align="">Walden University/The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Rebecca High</p>
<p align="">Staff Attorney</p>
<p align="">Racial Justice Act Study</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Heather A. Davis</p>
<p align="">Educational Psychology, Teacher Education</p>
<p align="">Dept. of Curriculum, Instruction, and Counselor Education</p>
<p align="">North Carolina State University<br>
</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Matt Militello</p>
<p align="">Assistant Professor</p>
<p align="">College of Education: Leadership Policy, and Adult and
Higher Education</p>
<p align="">North Carolina State University</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Tamara Nimkoff</p>
<p align="">Research Analyst </p>
<p align="">Westat</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Fay Cobb Payton</p>
<p align="">American Council on Education Fellow 2009-2010</p>
<p align="">Associate Professor of Information Systems, College of
Management</p>
<p align="">North Carolina State University</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<p align="">Lori Krzeszewski</p>
<p align="">Curriculum &
Instruction-Urban Education</p>
<p align="">UNC-Charlotte</p>
<div> <br class="ecxwebkit-block-placeholder">
</div>
<p align="">Candy M Beal</p>
<p align="">Curriculum, Instruction & Counselor Education</p>
<p align="">Associate Professor</p>
<p align="">North Carolina State University</p>
<p align=""><br>
</p>
<br>
<div> </div>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Paul C. Gorski
Founder, EdChange - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.EdChange.org">http://www.EdChange.org</a>
Board of Directors, International Assoc. for Intercultural Education - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.iaie.org">http://www.iaie.org</a>
Multicultural Pavilion - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.edchange.org/multicultural">http://www.edchange.org/multicultural</a>
Social Justice News - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.socialjusticenews.net">http://www.socialjusticenews.net</a>
SoJust Human Rights History Project - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.sojust.net">http://www.sojust.net</a>
International Assn. for Intercultural Education - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.iaie.org">http://www.iaie.org</a>
Social Justice Store - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.cafepress.com/edchange">http://www.cafepress.com/edchange</a>
Multicultural Poster Store - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.edchange.org/posters">http://www.edchange.org/posters</a>
Feminist-Tees - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.cafepress.com/feminist_tees">http://www.cafepress.com/feminist_tees</a>
EcoJustice Shop - <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.cafepress.com/ecojustice">http://www.cafepress.com/ecojustice</a>
</pre>
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