Thursday, February 26, 2009

What Are Segregated Schools?

I asked this question in my last post. What exactly are 'segregated' schools? As I mentioned in my previous post, Wake County today looks much different from Wake County 30 years ago. We have a growing Hispanic, Asian, and multi-racial population. It is not enough to talk about segregation in terms of the black population. I did a little poking around the internet to find a 'modern' definition of segregated schools and found that the term 'racially identifiable' is most often used. I could not find any NC definitions of either term but I did find a few.

A 1999 Minnesota state rule labels a school segregated, or racially identifiable, if the minority enrollment is more than 20 percentage points above the district minority enrollment. The Civil Rights Project defines segregated schools as those where the percentage of minority students deviates by more than 15% from the district wide percentage. In Chicago, schools are considered integrated if the white population is between 15-75%. A school is out of compliance if 70% or more of the students are white, and a racially identifiable school is one which is 85% or more non-white. (Of course, 'racially identifiable' is interesting because it sets everything up as two races: white and non-white, but that's an whole other discussion.)

I always get frustrated when people claim that the diversity policy keeps WCPSS from having schools over 40% F&R. Yes, that's the goal and it sounds terrific. Except nobody ever mentions the fact that 30% of our elementary and middle schools are over 40%. I think that most people aren't even aware of this--they just repeat the policy as fact. I've been thinking about this argument that without the diversity policy, we would go back to segregated schools. I wondered how many segregated schools we currently have and if we do have any, why is it never brought up?

I used Civil Rights Project's guidelines to determine which schools were segregated or racially identifiable. I thought that a 15% deviation seemed too strict, so I used Minnesota's '20% rule' but also added the schools that would qualify under the CRP guidelines. White students make up 51.8% of WCPSS's total student population.



Re-segreation and the Diversity Polilcy

If we stop busing for diversity or move towards neighborhood schools, we will re-segregate our schools. That is a common argument from those who favor WCPSS's diversity policy. On one hand, I do understand where those people are coming from. If we did move to strictly neighborhood schools (which I don't think most people are proposing), we would see largely minority schools in certain areas of town and largely white ones in others. On the other hand, I have a few problems with this argument.

First, it isn't truly segregation, or at least not the legal segregation of the past. Segregation was the deliberate and forced separation of blacks from whites. Are we living under segregation now because blacks and white don't live together for the most part? Its no secret that the 'projects' in downtown Raleigh are largely minority and that the suburban areas of far North Raleigh are largely white. Does that mean we are segregated? Is it segregation when high school students sit together by race in the school cafeteria? Or is it just human nature to want to be around those who look like you? It's definitely a topic worth discussing, but to use the term 're-segregation' is inflammatory. For the most part it serves only to invoke imagines of a racist past and to scare the general public.

Second, if it is illegal to consider race when making school assignments then how does the re-segregation argument fit in? Its widely known and admitted even by WCPSS's supporters that Wake County is unique. Assigning students by socio-economic status instead of race works here because most of Wake county's poor are minorities. But what is the true purpose of the diversity policy? It seems that avoiding 'segregated' schools is the real intent because that is one of the first arguments that gets made against changing the diversity policy.

Third, what are segregrated schools? Back in the days of segregation, Raleigh and much of the south were pretty much black and white. Now we have significant Hispanic and Asian populations. So what does segregation mean? Is it a school that is largely black? Or one that is largely minority with very few white students? Further complicating this question is the fairly large economic differences between Wake County's minority populations. Cary is probably the most diverse community in Wake when it comes to race, but these minority families aren't poor for the most part. Many are highly educated and employed in high tech industries. Does WCPSS value that type of diversity, or is it only about black and white or rich and poor?

I think that its time for WCPSS and Wake County as a whole to have real discussions on race, diversity, and what the goals of the diversity policy truly are. Demographics have changed significantly in Wake County yet we still seem to be operating with a 1950s or 1970s mindset. Of course we must respect and be mindful of the past but we will never get anywhere if we don't start looking towards the future.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Middle and High School Magnet Odds

Middle and high school magnet applications get a little more confusing. They are accepted according to the same priorities and criteria that elementary magnet students are except for one. As with elementary magnet applicants, siblings of current magnet students at that school/program are given first priority. A second priority is added for middle and high school applicants--students moving on from one magnet school to another. I have heard that the priority is for magnet students moving on to a magnet in the same program. For example, if a magnet student at an IB elem school applies for an IB middle school. But I am unsure of other instances.

what about base students at a magnet elementary school who aren't assigned to a magnet middle school? Do they have priority in getting accepted to a magnet middle school to continue the program? What about magnet elementary or middle school students who want to move on to a middle or high school magnet that offers a different program? For example, an IB elementary student applying for a GT middle school? Would they get priority over a student who went to a non-magnet elementary school? I'm waiting for clarification on these questions but until then we can still look at what round your base middle school qualifies for. As I said, the criteria for each round are the same for middle and high schools as they are for elementary schools.

To refresh your memory, the criteria states that the F&R% of a node & school should be at least 5% less than the county average. The county average for middle schools is 29.5 so I used 25%. For high schools, the average is 21.6%, so I used 17%.

Rounds One and Two
**Must live in a node 25%(17%) or less F&R, base school must be 25%(17%) or less F&R, crowding factor must be greater than 100%, and 2 year avg of Level I or II performance must be 20% or less. Round 1 is for those who meet all the criteria and applied for the same program last year but were denied. Round 2 is the same except for the 'applied last year' criteria.
Davis Drive Middle
Heritage Middle
Leesville Middle
Martin Middle--magnet
Wakefield Middle
West Cary Middle

Apex High
Leesville High
Panther Creek High

Round Three
**Must live in a node with 25%(17%) or less F&R, base school must be 25%(17%) or less F&R crowding factor must be greater than 85%, and 2 year avg of Level I or II performance must be 20% or less.
Apex Middle
Lufkin Road Middle
Salem Middle
West Lake Middle

Green Hope High
Holly Springs High

Round Four
**No requirement for F&R of your node, base school F&R must be less than 40%, crowding factor must be at least 85%, and 2 year avg of Level I or II performance must be 20% or less.
Centennial Middle--magnet
Ligon Middle--magnet

Athens Drive High
Broughton High--demag'ed
East Wake School of Engineering Systems
East Wake School of Health Science
Enloe High--magnet
Fuquay-Varina High
Garner High--magnet
Knightdale High
Millbrook High
Sanderson High
Wakefield High

Lottery for the Remaining 10% of Seats
**Comments after each school indicate why it wasn't considered in the first 4 rounds. For schools who missed the other rounds solely because of Level I/II performance, I put which round they would otherwise qualify for in bold.

Carnage Middle--magnet (45% F&R, 25.4% Level I/II)
Carroll Middle (43.8% F&R, 27.5% Level I/II)
Daniels Middle--demag'ed this year (21.4% Level I/II) Round 3
Dillard Drive Middle (40.1% F&R, 20.8% Level I/II)
Durant Road Middle (71.3% crowding, 20.9% Level I/II)
East Cary Middle(42.7% crowding)
East Garner Middle--magnet(50.4% F&R, 33.8% Level I/II)
East Millbrook Middle--magnet (43.8% F&R, 30.4% Level I/II)
East Wake Middle (77.6% crowding, 49.6% F&R, 29% Level I/II)
Fuquay-Varina Middle (23.6% Level I/II) Round 4
Holly Ridge Middle (22.2% Level I/II) Round 3
Moore Square Middle--magnet (79.8% crowding, 32.1% Level I/II)
North Garner Middle (30.8% Level I/II) Round 4
Reedy Creek Middle(40.9% F&R, 23.9% Level I/II)
Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle(25.5% Level I/II) Round 4
Wendell Middle(51.3% F&R, 33.8% Level I/II)
West Millbrook Middle(79.1% crowding, 41.7% F&R, 29% Level I/II)
Zebulon Middle--magnet (49.1% F&R, 32.3% Level I/II)

Cary High (78.1% crowding)
East Wake School of Arts, Education & Global Studies (44% F&R)
East Wake School of Integrated Technology (82.9% crowding, 44.2% F&R)
Middle Creek High (81.5% crowding)
SE Raleigh High--magnet (78.4% crowding)
Wake Forest-Rolesville High (76.3% crowding)

What's Your Chance, 2009?

It's magnet application time again so I thought I'd update my 'what are your chances' list. The News & Observer has reported that there will be no major changes to the selection criteria that they used last year. One potential problem is the criteria that a school's Level I or II performance on the EOGs for the past two years must be 20% or less. This wasn't an issue last year because the only elementary school that had more than 20% of its students getting a Level I or II was Brentwood. Since Brentwood was over 40% F&R, students assigned to Brentwood didn't qualify for anything but the last 10% of seats anyway. So I never even mentioned that criteria last year.

However, you may remember that EOG reading scores fell last year because of changes to the test. As you will see from the lists below, this would have significant impact on applicants from several schools. I sent an email to the Board asking if they will stick with this criteria or not. When I hear from them or when the criteria are officially decided upon, I will change the following list if I need to.

One of the criteria for acceptance into a magnet is the F&R% of your node. If you live in a node that is more than 27% F&R, you are not eligible for selection until Round 4. Without knowing the F&R% of your particular node, we can still see which base schools give you the best chance of being accepted to a magnet. According to WCPSS, 31.6% of all elementary students participate in the Free & Reduced Lunch Program. I rounded that up to 32% then considered 27% to be 5% points below the average. After siblings are placed, the earliest you can be accepted into an elementary magnet based on your current base school is:

Rounds One and Two--8 Schools
**Must live in a node 27% or less F&R, base school must be 27% or less F&R, crowding factor must be greater than 100%, and 2 year avg of Level I or II performance must be 20% or less. Round 1 is for those who meet all the criteria and applied for the same program last year but were denied. Round 2 is the same except for the 'applied last year' criteria.

Cedar Fork
Davis Drive
Forest Pines
Lacy
Oak Grove
Turner Creek
West Lake
Wiley (magnet)

Round Three--12 Schools
**Must live in a node with 27% or less F&R, base school must be 27% or less F&R crowding factor must be greater than 85%, and 2 year avg of Level I or II performance must be 20% or less.

Ballentine
Brassfield
Brooks (magnet)
Carpenter
Heritage
Holly Grove
Jones Dairy
Leesville Road
Morrisville
Olive Chapel
Pleasant Union
Willow Springs

Round Four--14 Schools
**No requirement for F&R of your node, base school F&R must be less than 40%, crowding factor must be at least 85%, and 2 year avg of Level I or II performance must be 20% or less.
Apex
Dillard Drive
Farmington Woods (magnet)
Fuller (magnet)
Hunter (magnet)
Joyner (magnet)
North Ridge
Northwoods
Olds
Penny Road
Root
Wake Forest
Washington
Weatherstone

Lottery for the Remaining 10% of Seats--65 Schools
**Comments after each school indicate why it wasn't considered in the first 4 rounds. For schools who missed the other rounds solely because of Level I/II performance, I put which round they would otherwise qualify for in bold.

Adams (76.7% crowding)
Aversboro (52.1% F&R, 28.5% Level I/II)
Baileywick (20.8% Level I/II) Round 4
Barwell (58.8% F&R, 37.2% Level I/II)
Baucom (61% crowding)
Brentwood (82.3% crowding, 69.8% F&R, 42.2% Level I/II)
Briarcliff (22.3% Level I/II) Round 4
Brier Creek (74.7% crowding)
Bugg (49.2% F&R, 26.8% Level I/II)
Carver (78.1% crowding, 57.7% F&R, 25.8% Level I/II)
Cary (20.9% Level I/II) Round 4
Combs--magnet (21% Level I/II) Round 4
Conn--magnet (42.8% F&R, 27.4% Level I/II)
Creech Road (64.3% F&R, 32.6% Level I/II)
Douglas--magnet (24.4% Level I/II) Round 4
Durant (29.6% Level I/II) Round 4
East Garner (70.2% crowding, 58.9% F&R, 49.3% Level I/II)
Forestville Road (43% F&R, 25.9% Level I/II)
Fox Road (60.5% F&R, 28.3% Level I/II)
Fuquay-Varina (23.9% Level I/II) Round 4
Green (71.4% crowding, 26.1% Level I/II)
Green Hope (74.2% crowding)
Harris Creek (82.2% crowding, 27% Level I/II)
Highcroft Drive (64.9% crowding)
Hilburn Drive (79.7% crowding, 42% F&R)
Hodge Road (59.9% F&R, 35% Level I/II)
Holly Ridge (21.1% Level I/II) Round 1
Holly Springs (76.2% crowding)
Jeffrey's Grove (23.8% Level I/II) Round 4
Kingswood (40.1% F&R, 23.9% Level I/II)
Knightdale (77.6% crowding, 55.7% F&R, 29.3% Level I/II)
Laurel Park (78.4% crowding)
Lead Mine (43.5% F&R)
Lincoln Heights (23.1% Level I/II) Round 4
Lockhart (69.9% crowding, 44.7% F&R, 22% Level I/II)
Lynn Road (46.7% F&R)
Middle Creek (21.1% Level I/II) Round 3
Millbrook--magnet (55.6% F&R, 28% Level I/II)
Mills Park (75.9% crowding)
North Forest Pines (27.2% Level I/II) Round 3
Partnership--magnet (23.5% Level I/II) Round 1
Poe--magnet (45.2% F&R, 30.1% Level I/II)
Powell--magnet (52.3% F&R, 24.8% Level I/II)
Rand Road (82.1% crowding)
Reedy Creek (41% F&R, 22% Level I/II)
River Bend (56.2% F&R, 31.8% Level I/II)
Rolesville (22% Level I/II) Round 4
Salem (82.9% crowding)
Sanford Creek (68% crowding, 37.7% Level I/II)
Smith (74% crowding, 68.1% F&R, 36.6% Level I/II)
Stough (46.4% F&R, 27.3% Level I/II)
Swift Creek (25.1% Level I/II) Round 4
Sycamore Creek (75.2% crowding)
Timber Drive (40.3% F&R, 23.9% Level I/II)
Underwood--magnet (23.3% Level I/II) Round 1
Vance (23.3 % Level I/II) Round 3
Vandora Springs (46.7% F&R)
Wakefield (78% crowding, 22.7% Level I/II)
Wakelon (66.7% F&R, 37.5% Level I/II)
Wendell (49.6% F&R, 27.4% Level I/II)
Wilburn (64.5% crowding, 57.8% F&R, 32.2% Level I/II)
Wildwood Forest (23.7% Level I/II) Round 4
Yates Mill (21.3% Level I/II) Round 4
York (74% crowding, 47.3% F&R, 24.3% Level I/II)
Zebulon (72.5% crowding, 57.2% F&R, 23.9% Level I/II)