Seattle Schools Community Forum: Income-Based and Race-Based Enrollment Tiebreakers

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Income-Based and Race-Based Enrollment Tiebreakers

Based on the comments on the Assignment Plan/Math Adoption Meeting Today from yesterday, I thought I'd share some history/background on the income-based and race-based enrollment tiebreaker discussions.

Race-Based Enrollment Tie-Breakers (this blog)
Seattle schools' racial tiebreaker ruled improper (Seattle Times)
Using income, instead of race, to identify disadvantaged students (Crosscut.com)
Income not always perfect school tiebreaker (Seattle Times)
The resegregation of Seattle's schools (Seattle Times)

3 comments:

dan dempsey said...: Math Adoption was included at this meeting. Was anyone there that could comment on this?

Here is a small collection of my letters to SPS directors on the HS math adoption.

Discovering Algebra etc.

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-can-discovering-algebra-etc-be-sps.html

Authentic Algebra needed

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2009/03/authentic-algebra-needed-in-seattle.html

Math and the Strategic Plan

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2009/03/sps-math-and-strategic-plan.html

Why are we excluding many math knowledgeable individuals in favor of those who know little high school math?

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2009/03/letter-to-sps-directors-about-hs-math.html; 3/22/09, 2:45 AM
Sahila said...: Seattle School District's integration positive assignment policies (and therefore integration positive busing referred to in the transportation plan?)were ruled as being unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 2007...

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=05-908

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parents_Involved_in_Community_Schools_v._Seattle_School_District_No._1

Why are people (on another thread) making a distinction between high school and elementary/middle school assignment policies - surely if its unconstitutional for high school assignment to be based on race, then its also unconstitutional for elementary and middle school assignment to also be based on race - and so, why is this policy still an element of transportation policies?... see:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/transportation/ServStandards.xml

under the heading yellow bus services for middle school students...

Notice also the discrepancy between what is offered (alterntive school K-8) Salmon Bay middle school students and AS#1 K-8 middle school students - no out of cluster transport for AS#1 middle schoolers because the K-5 geographic criteria are being applied, but Salmon Bay middle schoolers are bused from all over the city, including the north and north east Thornton Creek 5th grade graduates who then go on to Salmon Bay...

Were is the logic and the consistency? If the District is really serious about saving money, it would apply the same criteria to all schools, not just to some...; 3/22/09, 10:24 AM
TwinMom2003 said...: Thank you for pulling these together Beth.; 3/22/09, 5:20 PM

Education Acroynms

Note: not a complete list. Here's a link to the district's list.

Advanced Learning - SPS' three-tier program for advanced learners. Made up of APP, Spectrum and ALOs.

ALO - Advanced Learning Opportunity, the third tier of SPS' Advanced Learning program

AP - Advanced Placement. A national program of college-level classes given in high schools.

APP - Accelerated Progress Program. One of the levels of the Advanced Learning Program.

ASB - Associated Student Body. High school leadership groups.

AYP - Adequate Yearly Progress. Part of NCLB.

BEX - Building Excellence. SPS' capital renovation/rebuilding program that is funded via the BEX levy. Every 3 years there is the Operations levy and either the BEX or BTA levies as those two levies rotate in six year cycles).

BLT - Building Leadership Team. Staff members at a school who meet regularly to discuss building issues.

BTA - Buildings, Technology, Academics. The major maintenance/other capital fund for SPS. Originally BTA was to cover major maintenance like HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), roofs, waterlines, etc.) but now covers wide swaths of items like athletic fields, technology and funding academic needs.

CAICEE - Community Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence. Created by former Superintendent Manhas in 2008, to issue a report about reform recommendations for SPS.

CSIP - Continuous School Improvement Plan

CTE - Career and Technical Education (formerly Voc Ed)

EALR - Essential Academic Learning Requirement

EDM - Everyday Math

ELL - English Language Learners

EOC - End of Course Assessments

FACMAC - Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee. A district committee comprises of an all-volunteer citizen group created in 2012 to help bring research and ideas to capacity management issues in the district.

FERPA - Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. A federal law.

FRL - Free and reduced lunch.

FTE - Full Time Equivalent

FY - Fiscal Year

HSPE - High School Proficiency Exam

HQT - Highly Qualified Teacher

IA - Instructional Assistant

IB - International Baccalaureate program. An international program of advanced classes that can either be taken as stand alone or as part of an overall IB program.

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

IEP - Individual Educational Plan

JSCEE - John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (see headquarters)

MAP - Measures of Academic Progress

MSP - Measurement of Student Progress

NCLB - No Child Left Behind, see George W. Bush

OSPI - Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

PCP - Planning, Conference and Preparation

PD - Professional Development

RIF - Reduction in Force

RttT - Race to the Top, see Arne Duncan

RIT - Rasch Unit - scoring used in MAP testing

SBE - State Board of Education (or BOE)

SEA - Seattle Education Association (Seattle Teachers' union)

SEAC - Special Education Advisory Committee

SIT - School Intervention Team

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

TIF - Teacher Incentive Fund

WASL - Washington Assessment of Student Learning (former state test)

Seattle Schools Community Forum

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Income-Based and Race-Based Enrollment Tiebreakers

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