By Smith Ghosh

School board passes plan on integration

Louisville Courier-Journal - May 11, 2009

Despite vocal opposition, the Jefferson County, KY Board of Education approved the final piece of its new school integration plan on May 11.  The approved plan assigns students to middle and high schools based on a requirement that each school’s student body is made of 15-50% of students from neighborhoods that meet “socio-economic guidelines.”  The Board has already approved a similar plan for elementary school assignment, which will be enacted next fall.  The Board agreed to allow students who are enrolled in a middle or high school for 2009-10 to continue there unless they choose to attend their new assigned school, even though that will mean some schools will take five years to reach acceptable levels of diversity.

Angry parents seek school assignment transfers

Louisville Courier-Journal – May 10, 2009

In the first week following the assignment of Jefferson County kindergartners and first-graders using a new student-assignment policy, more than 600 parents filed requests for school transfers, many making complaints about the new plan.  Although the assignment plan has been controversial, district officials claim that the district generally receives some-albeit fewer-similar complaints.  Officials also attribute the rising transfer requests to the increasing popularity neighborhood schools, perhaps due to the economic climate.

Coalition opposes rezoning of schools

Boston Globe – May 12, 2009

In a recent press release, the Coalition for Equal Quality Education announced both its existence as well as a May 14 meeting about Boston Superintendent Johnson’s controversial proposal to change the city’s student assignment system.  The Coalition, which includes Councilor Chuck Turner, the Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts, the Boston School Bus Drivers Union, some students, several grass-roots groups and, potentially, Mayoral Candidate Sam Yoon, says that the proposed five-zone plan would lead to resegregation and would deny students in several neighborhoods access to high-quality schools.

Reinventing schools in Detroit

Detroit News – May 14, 2009

The Detroit public school district, which played host to U.S. Superintendent Arne Duncan on May 14, is implementing several new education reform programs.  The district is working with the New York-based Institute for Student Achievement, which specializes in school redesign based on a “model” that includes the development of a college preparatory curriculum, continual training of staff and the extension of the school day and year.  District officials are also planning to implement a student-driven teaching model called inquiry-based teaching and to create small themed schools out of the city’s large high schools.  While some of these reforms will be financed with federal TARP funds, many of the district’s initiatives, including the partnership with the Institute for Student Achievement, began before the bailout and also depend on private grant funding.

Campaign for High School Equity Outlines Steps for Closing the Achievement Gap at Congressional Hearing on High School Reform

Press Release – May 12, 2009

In a testimony before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, the Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE), a coalition of leading civil rights organizations focused on high school reform, asked Congress to take several specific actions to close the achievement gap in high schools nationwide.  Executive Director Michael Wotorson advocated the development of longitudinal data systems, the promotion of community involvement in high school education and the integration of non-academic supports into high schools, a move not far from Randi Weingarten’s vision of schools as community centers.

More black lawmakers open to school vouchers

USA Today – May 14, 2009

As the Committee on Homeland Security hears the “most high-profile voucher hearing of the past five years,” USA Today notes that support for voucher programs has expanded beyond its traditional bedrock of right-wingers, Catholics and Chicago School economists. Many young black democratic lawmakers, including Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and former Washington, D.C., mayor Anthony Williams, have opposed Democratic Party orthodoxy to support school voucher programs.  Several non-black democrats, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Robert Byrd (D-WV), have also expressed their supported of the program recently.

Margaret Spellings: Texas can keep educational lead

Dallas Morning News – May 12, 2009

In an Op-Ed, former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings writes about the “Texas approach” to education, arguing that the state’s long-time use of disaggregated data and accountability systems accounts for the success of its public school students (Spellings references McKinsey’s recent education study, noting that students in Texas are, on average, one to two years of learning ahead of students in California).  Spellings advocates for Texas Sen. Florence Shapiro’s S.B. 3, a bill that establishes curricular standards for Texas high schools with accompanying accountability and data-tracking measures.

A Hard Look at Education

Huffington Post – May 11, 2009

Referencing the troubling achievement gap in American schools, Mayor of Newark and Twitter-newbie Cory Booker describes several successful reforms in Newark’s public school system.  Newark officials-with a group of high profile partners-have invested heavily in the city’s charter schools, while also expanding magnet opportunities and develop small high schools.

Transforming the Teaching Profession

Huffington Post – May 8, 2009

Joel Klein, Chairman of the New York City Department of Education, offers a list of seven ways in which he would “transform the teaching profession.”  He advocates bonuses for urban teachers,  stronger barriers to tenure and the development of outcome-based measures for teacher effectiveness, adding that said “outcomes” should extend beyond test scores.

Smita Ghosh is a Paralegal in the Education Practice of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.