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"Any time you make change,you have competing interests.In the end, we all want the same thing."
-Lori-Christina Webb
Montgomery County Public Schools
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New NCSD "Field Report" Profiles Equity Work in Montgomery County, MD
Today, the National Coalition on School Diversity released our first Field Report.
Montgomery County Public Schools are not alone in this struggle to develop successful, diverse, equitable programs that serve all students. Many districts across the nation have experienced demographic shifts and must reexamine the ways in which educational opportunities are distributed to students along the lines of race and class, particularly in schools of choice. By taking the initiative to address these issues, Montgomery County Public Schools could serve as a model for other districts that strive to create more diverse and equitable schools.
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Civil Rights Community Reacts to DeVos Confirmation
Following
DeVos' historically close confirmation as Education Secretary, many civil rights organizations reacted with letters and statements. See below for a selection:
Secretary DeVos Speaks at Magnet Schools of America Conference
On February 15, Secretary DeVos
delivered remarks at the Magnet Schools of America Policy Training Conference in Washington. In her statement, DeVos praised magnet schools for their contribution to fighting segregation. She also highlighted changes to the Magnet Schools Assistance Program under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which raise the ceiling for funds per grant, extends the grant period from three to five years, and allows grant money to be put toward the costs of interdistrict transportation.
MSA's Executive Director, Todd Mann, shared reflections about the visit in a recent op-ed, entitled
What DeVos needs now is a great public school education. Share your thoughts about this speech and op-ed on Twitter, using
@MagnetSchlsMSA.
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U.S. Department of Education Updates
- The Department of Education has issued a call for peer reviewers to assist with Magnet Schools Assistance Program applications. More information on how to volunteer as a peer reviewer for the 2017 round of grants can be found here.
- The National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, recently developed new resources on how charter schools can actively foster student diversity. Read more below:
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"In an era when we have to fight to make equity and integration in schools a public concern, we were grateful to spend the day with another school community grappling with these very important issues. We all felt the camaraderie that springs from a shared interest in anti-racism and social justice and appreciated comparing experiences of learning through both study and activism
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- Principal Jill Bloomberg
Park Slope Collegiate
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Following the exchange, students at Capital Preparatory prepared a podcast recounting the experience, including an invterview with Park Slope Collegiate Principal Jill Bloomberg.
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NCSD Member Updates
- On February 9, 2017, the Civil Rights Project at UCLA released a report examining school segregation in our nation's capital. In Our Segregated Capital: An Increasingly Diverse City with Racially Polarized Schools, the authors find that while Washington D.C. has become increasingly diverse, and their schools have made strides on diversity in the past 20 years, the city's public schools are still intensely segregated along the lines of race and poverty. Furthermore, the authors find D.C.'s charters are more segregated than traditional public schools, indicating D.C.'s choice and voucher efforts have done little to foster integration. Read more about the report and D.C. school segregation here.
- The National Education Policy Center has launched the third year of their Schools of Opportunity recognition project. Building on the success of the past two years, NEPC will again recognize public high schools that are creating remarkable opportunities to learn for all their students. The application deadline is May 1, 2017. See here for applications. Read more about the recognition project in a recent Washington Post article here.
- On March 7, members of IntegrateNYC4Me will travel to the SXSW Edu conference in Austin, TX, to present the film Teach Us All. In this campaign IntegrateNYC4Me seeks to build the capacity of students to carry forth the legacy of the Little Rock Nine and take leadership in today's fight for equity. Read more here.
- In a new piece titled "Where busing works," reporter Simon Montlake examines the ambitious and largely successful two-way voluntary integration effort in Hartford, which is supported by the Sheff Movement Coalition. Montlake examines the ongoing efforts to integrate Hartford schools through the lens of parents wrestling with the choice between local schools and bussing their children for a chance to learn in high-quality, intentionally integrated classrooms.
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Summer Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University (July 17-20, 2017)
TC faculty, joined by experts and educators from across the country, will
offer
four
days
of intensive professional development
filled with multi-media presentations, interactive workshops, and deep dialogue sessions
. Participants
will emerge
with an action plan to engage and support learners.
Participants can earn 3 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or 30 New York State Continuing Teacher and Leadership Education (CTLE) hours.
Featuring an Opening Keynote by Dr. Vanessa Siddle Walker of Emory University
(An NCSD Research Advisory Panel Member)
Professor Siddle Walker is a historian and educator whose new, ground-breaking research on African American teachers in de jure segregated schools shares their vision of what real integrated public schools can and should be for all our students. Dr. Walker's talk will be followed by presenters and workshop leaders who can connect this pedagogical model to new strategies of culturally relevant pedagogy to engage today's students.
Please email
cps@tc.columbia.edu
to register
, or for information about special pricing for NYC teachers and group discounts.
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Upcoming Events of Interest
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National Coalition on School Diversity
c/o Poverty and Race Research Action Council
Website: school-diversity.org
Email: school-diversity@prrac.org
Mailing Address: 1200 18th St. NW #200 Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-544-5066
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