By: Maria Salciccioli, Senior Policy Analyst
On May 15, Ruth Wattenberg (Ward 3 Representative) and I attended Diversity Matters: Getting Public School Choice Right. The event was sponsored by The Century Foundation (TCF) and hosted at the Newseum. The morning opened with the release of a new research report, National Snapshot of Charter Schools’ Integration Efforts. The research focused on “diverse-by-design” charter schools, meaning those with both a stated commitment to diversity and a diverse student body, defined as both socioeconomically diverse (30% – 70% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch) and racially diverse (no more than 70% of any racial group). The researchers, Halley Potter and Kimberly Quick, identified 125 schools that met these criteria out of 5,692 they studied. In 100 districts that held these successful charter schools, common practices included:
• Redrawing boundaries (this included 40 of the 100)
• Weighted lotteries
• Intentional charter school locations
• Targeted outreach to families of underserved students
• Weighted pre-k lotteries, with opportunities for pre-k students to stay at the school in the years to come
• Magnet schools that pull from the entire district
• Transfer policies with preferences for low-income students
The researchers noted that 10% of the diverse-by-design schools were in rural areas, which was proof that these schools could be created anywhere. Four DC public charter schools made the cut: Capital City Public Charter School – Lower School, EL Haynes – Elementary School, EL Haynes – High School, and Elsie Whitlow Stokes. I strongly recommend taking a look at the report for anyone who’s interested.
After the report release, TCF held a panel on models of school choice as a tool for diversity. Stakeholders from two charter districts and the Chicago Board of Education spoke about the importance of inclusiveness in creating a welcoming, diverse charter environment.
“There is no point in bringing diverse people together if you don’t let them think and speak and have a voice” – @cityschoolsla 👏🏼 #DiversityMatters pic.twitter.com/bOs2YblG1E
— Maria (@msalcicc) May 15, 2018
After the first panel, we heard a keynote address from Dr. John B. King Jr., former Secretary of Education under the Obama Administration, who I had the opportunity to work for in my last role. He currently runs The Education Trust, and he spoke about creating supportive school environments for teachers of color and ensuring that diversity means equity instead of checking off a box.
“Invisible tax” on teachers of color – idea that black teachers will handle diversity initiatives, Latino teachers will translate, Black men will handle discipline – all w/o compensation, recognition. @JohnBKing: this is also necessary diversity work in schools. #diversitymatters pic.twitter.com/JQlEVww9o7
— Maria (@msalcicc) May 15, 2018
The next panel asked panelists how to reap the benefits of diversity, and principals from diverse-by-design charter schools, a former Connecticut Department of Education representative, and the CEO of a charter network spoke about their experiences. They talked about working actively against racism; one strategy they suggested was inviting parents into schools and building community in partnership with them.
We talk about diversity w/o acknowledging the anti-racist work we must do. Take a stand: what do we mean by equity & why is it so hard to achieve? – @GislaineEdSpeak. Excited @DCSBOE will vote to hopefully adopt definition of ed #equity at tomorrow’s meeting. #DiversityMatters pic.twitter.com/GSOZu8f4sS
— Maria (@msalcicc) May 15, 2018
The next session, which I loved, was a conversation with Melissa Harris-Perry and Dr. Monique Morris, author of Pushout. The women talked about the non-academic factors that are necessary to student success, supporting black male students without excluding black female students, and the fact that teachers need to love their students and use their classrooms as spaces to fight against oppression. Dr. Morris echoed something our Student Advisory Committee members had said just the evening before – school uniforms are often used to police black girls’ bodies and are unequally enforced for them. The book was already on my to-read list, and I’m incredibly excited to dig into it soon.
“I had to love the people I was teaching…how I taught was critical to maintaining structures of promise and equity. Education is anti-oppression work. If you’re not about it, you’re not teaching for real.” – @MoniqueWMorris #DiversityMatters pic.twitter.com/Dj4fUP7SeA
— Maria (@msalcicc) May 15, 2018
TCF concluded the event with a panel on millennials in education, and the session ended on a positive note as participants heard from young, diverse charter school representatives from across the country.
This is the next generation of leaders in the school diversity movement. Their own experience in schools is closer and they say “Let’s complicate the conversation on diversity in school!” #DiversityMatters pic.twitter.com/Mzi0t8JY5r
— DCLanguageImmersion (@DCImmersion) May 15, 2018
The event was really meaningful, and I look forward to learning more about how we can increase the number of diverse-by-design charters in our city!
D.C. State Board of Education Blog 