EDBUILD
Fractured: The Breakdown of America's School Districts
Fractured: The Breakdown of America's School Districts
What are some wealthy communities doing to hoard funding?
In the 30 states where it is legal to do so, many wealthy communities are fencing themselves off from their local school districts to create their own districts, pulling funding away from their original district
What is North Community High's mascot? What is the significance in the context of the article?
Polar bear; many graduates still remember this and find pride in the symbol signifying community ties and identity rooted in the school
Where does this case study take place?
Dekalb Country School District in Atlanta
What are the two primary factors that policymakers in Jefferson County must balance in their current student assignment plan?
1. Family choice
2. Maintaining diverse compositions
According to the article, what is a key cause of school segregation?
Attendance boundaries divide students into schools within districts
How many states do NOT have a policy allowing for a process of school district secessions?
20
How do students benefit from racially and socioeconomically diverse schools?
Reduces biases, promotes skills such as critical thinking
This district is one of the most _________ districts in the country.
Segregated
Name some of the benefits of Jennerson County's current assignment plan
increased enrollment, some school choice, improvement in school culture and student performance at struggling schools
Are stakeholders and the public generally opposed to or in support of rezoning?
Opposed
What was the ruling of Milliken v. Bradley (1974)
Milliken v. Bradley (1974) ruled that states cannot order the desegregation of schools across district lines
Name 3 challenges that the Minneapolis school system faces
Low enrollment due to school choice policies (some students attend charter or private schools), high crime rates, low test scores
Name some concerns about rezoning that are mentioned in this article
Rooted in racism and classism, housing, social services
Name some of the challenges that the Jefferson County district faces
Changing demographics, maintaining community support, balancing interests and priorities
School rezoning studies overlook school stakeholders, even though they are important in mediating and rezoning processes and the values they hold. What are two examples of who these stakeholders are?
Superintendents and school board members
What does this picture represent?
This graphic shows the states in which communities can petition to break away from their district. The purple dots represent communities that have successfully seceded from their districts. Blue shows where there are ongoing actions. Grey shows inactive attempts. Orange represents cases where petitions were rejected.
Many North High Family members don't necessarily feel strongly about integration in terms of race, instead, they care about ______?
More investment and resources
What are the implications of invisible lines segregating school systems?
It prevents Black and Hispanic students (underserved in the U.S. education system) from accessing the same educational resources and opportunities as their white peers. These can change with very small boundary changes.
What is the result of the U.S. Supreme Court Case: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (PICS)
Established regional clusters with minority composition and set ranges of school representation for each cluster
Redrawing district boundaries does not always have a positive effect. Name some negative outcomes of redrawing attendance boundaries in communities.
Redrawing attendance boundaries can exacerbate or ameliorate racial and economic segregation in schools.
Given the graphic, why do you think in certain states, such as Maine, there is a higher concentration of community secessions?
Product of ruling Kara talked about where govt 15 yrs ago re-configured districting on a state level. So districts had the opportunity to opt out of the new configuration. These dots are opted out. Majority of successions after 2013. They want to keep funding extremely local in these rural school systems.
Think about how we have discussed community and school relationships. Discuss why it is important for policymakers to keep school and community identity in mind when making decisions about school composition.
...
District officials redrew attendance zones based on geography, school capacity, and public feedback. What did they not consider? And what did they excuse themselves from considering?
They did not consider race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Excused themselves from making the effort to integrate schools.
What are some next steps for the JCPS area to alter the trajectory of historical racism and socioeconomic segregation?
-Awareness of the language barrier in this area
-Buy-in from school and community stakeholders for the JCPS student assignment plan
-Community-wide pride
What are some ways that rezoning processes could be made smoother?
Clarity around diversity goals, opportunities to adopt clear priorities, specific and measurable integration criteria