“Wake diversity policy could be swept away” seems to leave no doubt where the News & Observer stands on next week’s school board elections. As usual educational establishment types like Jennifer Lanane of the Wake County Chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators seem absolutely miffed at why anyone would want to “tinker” with a quality school system.
The answer is simple: diversity isn’t working. Too many kids and parents don’t like it. That Wake County scores better than Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools on state tests is frequently cited as evidence that diversity is working. However a closer look at the data says otherwise.
Once you cut through the chatter, pro-diversity advocates blather on in vagaries about Wake’s reputation and the plan’s impact on economic growth. Noticeably absent from the dialogue is any reference to hard academic data which says the policy improves student achievement and parents stand behind it.
If administrators were so confident of the beneficial impacts of Wake’s school assignment policy why has the school board steadfastly refused to evaluate the program? Next Tuesday parents will finally get the chance to do their own evaluation.