District Administration - January 2010 - (Page 8)

Br iefings Newsupdate PeoPle Watch Activist PAsses Author, advocate, and defender of public education Gerald Bracey died Oct. 20 at age 69. Renowned as an expert on standardized testing, he released his final book, “Education Hell: Rhetoric vs. Reality,” earlier this year. NAtioNAl tech PlAN Karen cator, the Department of Education’s newly named director of education technology, has drafted the Obama administration’s National Education Technology Plan, revised every 5 years, and will release it in Jan. 2010. hoNored The American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association presented Vice President Joseph r. Biden the 2009 Annie Award on Nov. 23 for speaking openly about his speech impediment as a child in his book, “Promises to Keep.” New suPeriNteNdeNt In a unanimous vote, valeria silva was named the new superintendent of St. Paul (Minn.) Public Schools. With over 20 years of experience in the district, Silva said that she felt ready to move ahead as the district leader. by Marion Herbert Is It Segregation or Fragmentation? An unsettling trend is emerging in urban pockets across the country as some school districts are redrawing their boundary lines. As a result, many municipalities are showing glaring gaps in race, ethnicity and economic status. A recent study shines a spotlight on Jefferson County, Ala., and illustrates the distressing process of metropolitan subdivision and the direct consequences of subsequent school resegregation. “splintering school districts: understanding the link between segregation and Fragmentation,” from the fall 2009 issue of Law & Social Inquiry, centers on a Birmingham community where local control over education is revered and the fragmentation of districts is prevalent. Any city in Alabama with over 5,000 residents can form a district separate from the county. “it’s a complex pattern that developed over a period of several decades since the 1950s,” says erica Frankenberg, author of the study and research and policy director for the initiative on school integration at the Civil rights Project at uClA. “The discourse over these decisions is around local control, not segregation. Communities view schools as a valuable resource, but there is little evidence of thinking how that might affect other people in the metropolitan areas.” According to the study, betweendistrict segregation accounts for approximately 70 percent of all school segregation. it describes how families that do not face economic barriers in the housing market are able to move to homes in areas considered to provide high-quality schools, while others cannot. in Parents involved with Community schools v. seattle school district no. 1 (2007), the supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to use race as a factor rememBered Leading educational reformer ted sizer died Oct. 21 at the age of 77. Sizer founded the Essential Schools Movement in 1984 and was an organizer and mentor for the Forum for Education and Democracy. in assigning children to public schools, but agreed districts may consider it to be a compelling interest to achieve a diverse student body. “it’s a disturbing phenomenon,” says susan eaton, research director at the Charles Hamilton Houston institute for race and Justice at Harvard law school. “racially diverse schools do far better in terms of short- and long-term achievements for kids, developing critical thinkers and children of color persisting and finding success.” unable to legally redistribute the student population, districts must encourage diversity through other means, such as implementing regional magnet schools and cross-district transportation systems, addressing housing policies, and stabilizing communities, according to gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil rights Project at uClA. “Thousands of schools around the country are becoming more unequal, and many people aren’t doing anything about it,” says Orfield. going forward, Orfield believes the Obama administration may encourage policy changes and the courts will become more skeptical of motions for district fragmentation. District Administration 8 January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2010

District Administration - January 2010
Table of Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Health Update
Curriculum Update
District Profile
The Feud Over Food
Discipline Gets the Boot
Cutting Technology Costs with Refurbished Computers
Will Pensions Bankrupt Your District?
Tech Disruptions
Crisis Response
Supervisor’s Opinion
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - January 2010