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Images from "Where Integration Meets Innovation," One Nation Indivisible's recent conference in Hartford, Connecticut.  NCSD-affiliated participants photographed above are: Crystal Moore (Magnet Schools of America), John Brittain (UDC Law School), Linda Tropp (UMASS Amherst), David Tipson (NY Appleseed), Dennis Parker (ACLU), and Susan Eaton (The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School). Also featured in the photo above are Ofelia Wade (Utah State Office of Education) and Maria Pacheco (Education Alliance at Brown University and the New England Equity Assistance Center).  Click here to visit the conference resources page and click here to read learn more about school integration efforts in Hartford. Thanks for a great conference, everyone!
Building Blocks for Better Schools
 

A recent report from the Education Funders Research Initiative establishes 6 education priorities for incoming New York City Mayor de Blasio. Drawing on work from New York Appleseed and its local partners, the report highlights how changing demographics have resulted in large portions of the city where effective integration is possible, and should be pursued.

 

Encouragingly, included among the priorities presented is an emphasis on "cultivat[ing] greater racial and economic integration in schools where possible."  The report goes on to state that while NYC's schools are highly segregated with little change in the past decade, segregation is not inevitable.  

Recent Policy Memo Analyzes Louisiana Voucher/Desegregation Dispute
 
In his recent policy memo, "Much Ado about Politics (and Much Ignored about Research Evidence)," Professor Kevin Welner explains that Louisiana Governor Jindal and other opponents have either misunderstood or misrepresented the actions of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which is attempting to bring Louisiana's voucher program within the scope of existing law and to avoid predictable harm to children that would occur if their racial isolation were increased. While research evidence does not support claims that vouchers advance educational or civil rights, Welner argues, the evidence does establish that racial isolation is harmful to children and to society.

In the time since the policy memo was published, the DOJ has requested the opportunity to review the impacts of proposed voucher placements on segregation in each district, to avoid undermining longstanding desegregation orders in the state.
ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Goodwin College in East Hartford, CT
December 12, 2013 
8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
(Optional magnet school tours will follow on Friday, December 13)
 
Next week, Goodwin's Center for Magnet & School Leadership will host "Magnets in a School Choice Arena: Innovations in Learning--What We Know," a symposium for researchers and educational leaders. Participants will learn about recent court cases and their impact on magnet programs and the importance of merging research on parents' choice values and priorities in light of evidence of racial and social resegregation. Another panel will address the implementation of curriculum and instructional practices that are responsive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. This conference is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Employment Opportunity: Public Interest Projects Seeking Program Officer

 

Public Interest Projects (PIP) is seeking an experienced professional to serve as Program Officer for the Just and Fair Schools Fund (JFSF). PIP seeks to foster a movement for social change resulting in equality, fairness and a stronger participatory democracy.  To apply, interested applicants should send resume, cover letter, writing sample, salary requirements and a list of three references to: Lori Rosenblatt, Director of Human Resources, at LRosenblatt@publicinterestprojects.org.
Call for Proposals: Magnet Schools of America National Conference

 

Magnet Schools of America (MSA) is now accepting presentation proposals for its national conference, which will take place from May 15-18 in Hartford, CT (the conference falls on the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, which is on May 17th, 2014). This year, MSA is introducing a 'parent track' and is actively promoting workshops hosted by teachers, parents, and community partners specifically for parents of magnet students.  Deadline for proposals is Friday, December 13, 2013.
RESEARCH ADVISORY PANEL MEMBERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Research Advisory Panel member Sean F. Reardon and his colleagues recently published several papers examining achievement gap data. Patterns and Trends in Racial Academic Achievement Gaps Among States, 1999-2011, combines National Assessment of Educational Progress and state accountability test data to examine variations among states in achievement gap trends and levels, while Left Behind? The Effect of No Child Left Behind on Academic Achievement Gaps examines whether the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has been successful in narrowing the racial achievement gap.
RESOURCES

 

University of Texas at Austin professors Anthony BrownJulian Vasquez Heilig, and Keffrelyn Brown recently authored a book chapter that explores some of the common tensions around curriculum before and after Brown v. Board of Education. The chapter explores how curriculum has "followed a similar path of inclusion and exclusion" as schools themselves (moving from segregation to desegregation/integration, followed by resegregation). As a whole, the piece explores the relationship between education policy and access to high-quality, multicultural curriculum. Read a quick summary of the book chapter on Professor Vasquez Heilig's blog. 

Issue

December 2013

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About NCSD
The National Coalition on School Diversity is a network of national civil rights organizations, university-based research institutes, local educational advocacy groups, and academic researchers seeking a greater commitment to racial and socioeconomic diversity in federal K-12 education policy and funding. We also support the work of state and local school diversity practitioners.
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Integration
Research
Network
The National Coalition on School Diversity is forming a network to help increase communication between education researchers, policymakers, and advocates. If you are an educational researcher and are interested in learning more about this developing community of researchers, please email us or visit our website
 NCSD Member Organizations 
  • NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  • Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • Poverty & Race Research Action Council
  • Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School
  • Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA
  • Teaching Tolerance
  • Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College
  • University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights
  • Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University
  • Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley
  • Education Law Center
  • Magnet Schools of America
  • Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at UC Berkeley School of Law
  • Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity at the University of Minnesota Law School
  • New York Appleseed
  • Sheff Movement coalition
  • One Nation Indivisible
  • Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation
  • ERASE Racism
  • Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
 Membership

Organizational membership in the NCSD is free and open to national, regional, and local organizations that are working to support racial and economic integration in public schools. Member groups will be listed on the NCSD website, and will be asked to help publicize NCSD publications and events, and to support NCSD advocacy efforts, as appropriate, at the U.S. Department of Education, in state governments, and in Congress. NCSD policy decisions are made by an established steering committee of national civil rights organizations and several academic advisers.

 

To inquire about becoming an NCSD member organization, email us

CONTACT US

National Coalition on School Diversity

c/o Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC)

Website: www.school-diversity.org

Email: [email protected] 

Phone: 202-544-5066 

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