- It's National Charter School Week, Part 2
- Administration offers guidance on affirmative action
It's National Charter School Week, Part 2
The Examiner
By Mark Lerner
May 7, 2014
“Let me be clear: I believe in choice, I don’t think parents should be stuck” in low-performing schools. - Marion Barry, quoted in yesterday's Washington Post.
It has been widely reported that only 25 percent of all public school children living in the nation's capital attend their neighborhood school. Then why do we have all of this citizen controversy and media attention regarding Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith's efforts to redraw student school feeder patterns? An explanation is contained in a remark by Ms. Smith included in yesterday's article on the subject by the Washington Post's Emma Brown:
"The city needs to revisit its student-assignment policies and boundaries, she says, because decades of demographic change and charter-school growth have left some schools overcrowded and others half-empty, some schools thriving and others struggling."
But isn't this phenomenon, good schools attracting more students while lower performing ones experience declines in their student body, what school choice is all about? D.C. is one of the nation's leaders in possessing a true education marketplace. We have a private school voucher program involving approximately 2,000 kids. Charters now educate 44 percent of all public school students, growing to a population of over 36,000. Many parents of DCPS exercise their ability to pick out-of-boundary facilities for their offspring. With so many options available it appears that the traditional notion of assigning students based upon their neighborhood school is outdated. The paradigm has truly shifted.
What's so important about this change is that it is right. As Councilman Barry stated students need not be trapped in poor quality schools. This man who worked for civil rights correctly understands that the fight is not over. A good education in 2014 cannot, and should not, depend on income, race, or zip code.
Instead of all of this energy spent on designing maps and diagrams like in the command and control days of communist countries we should accept the dynamic nature of our educational landscape by expanding the number of high quality seats and closing those schools that are not working. Those involved in school reform need to see the past for exactly what it is. The past.
Administration offers guidance on affirmative action
The Washington Post
By Lyndsey Layton
May 6, 2014
The Obama administration on Tuesday issued guidance to universities in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last week that found colleges can prohibit the use of racial considerations in university admissions.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter, top officials at the Education and Justice departments said that elementary and secondary schools and universities can use “legally permissible methods” when trying to create racially diverse schools.
Here is the full text of the letter, released Tuesday morning:
“Dear Colleague:
“We are writing to confirm that the decision of the United States Supreme Court issued on April 22, 2014 in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, et al., leaves intact the Court’s prior holdings recognizing that institutions of higher education and elementary and secondary schools may use all legally permissible methods to achieve their diversity goals. These include, absent any restrictions in state law, appropriately tailored programs that consider the race of individual applicants as one of several factors in an individualized process to achieve the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.
“The Departments of Education and Justice strongly support diversity in elementary, secondary, and higher education, because racially diverse educational environments help to prepare students to succeed in our increasingly diverse nation. The educational benefits of diversity, long recognized by the Court and affirmed in research and practice, include cross-racial understanding and dialogue, the reduction of racial isolation, and the breaking down of racial stereotypes. Furthermore, to be successful, the future workforce of America should transcend the boundaries of race, language, and culture as our economy becomes more globally interconnected.
“In 2011, the Departments issued “Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity in Postsecondary Education” and the related “Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity and Avoid Racial Isolation in Elementary and Secondary Schools.” Additionally, in 2013, after the Supreme Court issued its decision in the Fisher case, we issued further guidance in the form of “Questions and Answers about Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.” All three guidance documents remain in effect after the Schuette decision and are available at www.ed.gov and www.usdoj.gov. In a state with a provision like the one in effect in Michigan, which was upheld in Schuette, you should consult with an appropriate legal official, such as your State’s attorney general, with regard to your institution’s or agency’s ability to take actions consistent with these guidance documents.
“We appreciate your interest in these matters and your commitment to help students succeed. Our offices stand ready to provide technical assistance should you or your colleagues need it on this important topic.”