Yesterday was a victory for all Wake County parents and children. In addition to creating two new committees that will include citizen members, the board passed a resolution which essentially ends mandatory year-round schools. The same resolution also prevents the school district from using economic diversity as a criteria for assigning which students gain acceptance to year-round schools.
The resolution gives parents greater control over the education of their children — exactly what most Wake County parents want (See: Wake County Schools Survey) . This is good news, though you’d never guess it from the squealing on the left and the popular press who believe Wake’s economic diversity policy to be sacrosanct. The fact is, while Wake’s diversity plan may have been held up as an ideal, it never delivered on results. The data that are out there don’t support the plan. Why did Del Burns refuse to release the SAS evaluation only a couple of days before the fall school board election? Why was the previous school board so opposed to a comprehensive evaluation of the economic diversity plan? Tuesday night, the people said enough. Score a victory for parents.
Wake County Public Schools/Resolution Adopted by School Board January 5, 2009
Resolution /Calendar Choices
We strongly oppose the mandatory assignments of students to year-round calendar schools and support calendar choices for all families. Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, there will be no mandatory year-round assignments. Every effort will be made to accommodate families into the calendar of their choice, whether it is year-round or traditional, at a school within proximity of their residence. We will no longer deny calendar applications based on socio-economic status. We will use each and every seat efficiently.
One Comment
Jan 06 at 15:25
It is never easy to be a school board member. Parents are a finicky bunch. The new school board members and the chairman are to be commended for their resolve in the face of adversity.