More Related to WCPSS and Diversity

[janny]

Originally Posted by jln69

Yes, but most of the original articles you cited were referring mainly because of socioeconomic diversity and some even cited black vs. white and white flight. This is far from Wake's agenda. There are many types of diversity. I didn't mean to insult you just to point out that this is not what is going on here in Wake for anyone new to the forum that is not familiar.

I wasn't insulted.

Maybe my understanding of things is wrong, but my impression has been that WCPSS' diversity policy is supposedly socioeconomically driven - spreading out the amount of students receiving free/reduced lunch, and also the amount of ESL students.

Voters call for end to Wake schools diversity policy :: WRAL.com - This is the article referred to in another thread - "The district aims to have no more than 40 percent of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches at any school. Students are assigned every year to maintain that level of socioeconomic diversity, as well as to fill new schools and relieve overcrowding."

Originally Posted by roscomac

After the busing for diversity policy ends, do you expect some schools to have an easier time attracting good teachers than others? What do you expect the impact of this to be?

Yes, of course, some schools will have an easier time than others. As Tuborg said, there will need to be incentives in place to attract better teachers to lower-performing schools, but I don't think that will be a cure-all. Attracting good teachers and retaining good teachers are two different things. I'm a former teacher, licensed and taught in another state. I worked in a couple of low-performing school districts. It was tough. "Good" teachers don't go into the field and stay in it for the $$.

Incidentally, how do you define "good teacher"?

[CHTransplant]

Originally Posted by janny

Maybe my understanding of things is wrong, but my impression has been that WCPSS' diversity policy is supposedly socioeconomically driven - spreading out the amount of students receiving free/reduced lunch, and also the amount of ESL students.

Didn't they actually use race until a few years ago, and it wasn't until that became problematic that they switched to using free & reduced lunch eligibility as a proxy for race?

[janny]

Originally Posted by CHTransplant

Didn't they actually use race until a few years ago, and it wasn't until that became problematic that they switched to using free & reduced lunch eligibility as a proxy for race?

Yes. Third paragraph down - Is Wake's decades-long effort for racial diversity over? - News - North Raleigh News.

[sswaring]

Originally Posted by CHTransplant

Didn't they actually use race until a few years ago, and it wasn't until that became problematic that they switched to using free & reduced lunch eligibility as a proxy for race?

All the indications point to socioeconomic factors being a more accurate predictor than simply ethnic factors: in other words, a school with poor white kids would perform as badly as poor black kids. So why not make an effort to provide the best education for all?

It wasn't about political correctness.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by janny

I wasn't insulted.

Maybe my understanding of things is wrong, but my impression has been that WCPSS' diversity policy is supposedly socioeconomically driven - spreading out the amount of students receiving free/reduced lunch, and also the amount of ESL students.

Voters call for end to Wake schools diversity policy :: WRAL.com - This is the article referred to in another thread - "The district aims to have no more than 40 percent of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches at any school. Students are assigned every year to maintain that level of socioeconomic diversity, as well as to fill new schools and relieve overcrowding."

Yes, of course, some schools will have an easier time than others. As Tuborg said, there will need to be incentives in place to attract better teachers to lower-performing schools, but I don't think that will be a cure-all. Attracting good teachers and retaining good teachers are two different things. I'm a former teacher, licensed and taught in another state. I worked in a couple of low-performing school districts. It was tough. "Good" teachers don't go into the field and stay in it for the $$.

Incidentally, how do you define "good teacher"?

A number of good points. One of the best is how do you define a good teacher. You will understand the following and hopefully all will.

School X is inside the beltway and a magnet elementary school. It currently has a Free Reduced Meal population of 26% with some teachers considered truly excellent working with their population. With the end to busing they will return to a base population that is now 76% Free Reduced Meal. Will those same excellent teachers with one population continue to be excellent with their new population? If not how will the system handle their evaluations and assignments for the next year etc etc etc. What is good in one setting might not be in another. Teachers have strengths and weaknesses with different groups of kids. How will you reallocate teachers so the can stay in a school where they are most effective?