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A Teacher's Journal: Jazzed to Call Wake County Home
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In a 5-4 decision that is sure to change the face of public schools in America for years to come, the Supreme Court ruled this week that race cannot be used as a factor in student assignment decisions made by districts in Seattle and Louisville. The move---supported by Chief Justice John Roberts as a "way to stop discrimination on the basis of race"---is sure to drive conversations in hundreds of municipalities about what we value most in education.
Many will argue in favor of neighborhood schools where assignment is determined by geography---and few would deny that neighborhood schools have distinct advantages: Families can build a long term relationship with a school and its teachers that can translate into happy children and a valuable sense of continuity that is somewhat lost when students attend schools far from their homes. Having grown up in a neighborhood school that I loved in Western New York, I know just how valuable that sense of belonging can be!
From my perspective as a classroom teacher, however, neighborhood schools have distinct disadvantages as well. The biggest weakness is that not all neighborhoods can provide the same level of support for their schools. In communities wracked by poverty, students and teachers regularly go without the additional resources and attention generously provided by parents in wealthier suburbs despite facing almost overwhelming social and economic challenges.
This makes teaching and learning far more challenging in some neighborhoods than others---and only exacerbates the teaching quality gap that sees poor children taught by inexperienced or underprepared teachers far more frequently than students of wealth. Simply stated, schools serving large numbers of children living in poverty rarely have strong cores of highly adept teachers---and have little capacity to attract them.
This is why Wake County's longstanding policy of using socioeconomic factors to assign students and diversify schools has drawn national attention and regard. As a community, we have sent the strong public message that every child deserves access to highly accomplished teachers regardless of personal circumstances. We've chosen to set aside personal interests to ensure that healthy schools exist in every neighborhood across our county. While at times we question our commitment to a practice that can seem disruptive, we've held true to a core principle that we should be proud of.
And the results have been nothing short of extraordinary. Despite ranking in the bottom third in per pupil spending in our state, we are constantly one of the top performing districts academically. Few of our schools struggle to serve students even at a time when external accountability measures see districts statewide coming under criticism and rebuke for leaving students behind. Nationally, we are one of the top performing large districts in the country year after year.
The credit for this success is shared by committed families who extend learning for their children beyond the classroom and a committed electorate that continues to support educational policies that place the needs of the entire community in front of the needs of the individual.
For all of those reasons, I'm jazzed to call Wake County my home.
Posted by William Ferriter at 8:08 AM on July 1, 2007 | Leave Feedback
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