Student Diversity, Choice, and School Improvement - Hardcover

Willie, Charles; Edwards, Ralph; Alves, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0897898478 ISBN 13: 9780897898478

Publisher: Praeger, 2002

Synopsis

Diversified schools, in which students of various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic characteristics are balanced, have a positive contextual effect on achievement for all groups compared to schools with homogeneous student bodies that tend to help affluent, white students and harm poor students and students of color. The authors advise school districts convicted for operating segregated schools on how to make all schools schools of choice that must compete for students who enroll in them. And it discusses ways of being fair and just in the distribution of educational resources to affluent as well as poor students and to white students as well as students of color. School systems that are reluctant to use racial fairness guidelines in the enrollment process are advised to use socioeconomic fairness guidelines, because the absence of any enrollment fairness guidelines tends to result in the return to segregation and a dual school system helpful to a few but harmful to many students. This book suggests ways of empowering parents and professional educators and it discusses how to achieve a good outcome for urban as well as rural school districts and for large as well as small school systems. Among communities mentioned in this study are Cambridge, Boston, Brockton MA; St.Lucie County, Lee County, Hillsborough County (including Tampa) FL; Santa Rosa County CA; Seattle WA; New Haven CT; Rockford IL; Milwaukee WI; and Charleston County SC.

About this title

Review:

"These researchers and reform designers do an excellent job of putting their arguments into layman's terms. Admirably, they spell out how an effective choice plan not only targets desegregation, but also develops and repairs the least desired schools in a district, and how this improvement-which temporarily deprives capital from already resource-rich schools-can be made palatable to all stakeholders."-Multicultural Review

?These researchers and reform designers do an excellent job of putting their arguments into layman's terms. Admirably, they spell out how an effective choice plan not only targets desegregation, but also develops and repairs the least desired schools in a district, and how this improvement-which temporarily deprives capital from already resource-rich schools-can be made palatable to all stakeholders.?-Multicultural Review

Synopsis:

Student diversity and school improvement are complementary, say educators Willie (Harvard U.) Ralph Edwards (Northeastern U.), and (Michael J. Alves (Brown U.), and should always be considered together. They provide examples of Controlled Choice student assignment plans that reflect their commitment to these principles. They also explain how Contro

About this edition

• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0897898478
• ISBN 13: 9780897898478
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192