NCSD Update (Jan. 2021): School Integration Priorities; Teens Take Charge and CRP Present Activists x Academics Summit (2/13)

JANUARY 2021 UPDATES

February 13: Join Teens Take Charge and The Civil Rights Project for the Activists X Academics Summit. The summit, focused on racial justice in K-12 public schools, was planned by youth for a national audience. Featuring: Andrew Brennan, Elise Boddie, Gary Orfield, Jo Ann Allen Boyce, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Noliwe Rooks, Luis Alejo, Mohammed Choudhury, and more!

NEW NCSD PUBLICATION

Our newest policy brief, School Integration Priorities for a Biden/Harris Administration, builds on our December release, 10 Ways the Biden/Harris Administration Can Prioritize School Integration In Its First 100 Days. (Update: The Biden/Harris admin has already revoked Executive Order 13950 (no. 7 on our list), which sought to limit and curb diversity, equity, and inclusion training! Read more via ABC News.)

Co-created by our members, School Integration Priorities for a Biden/Harris Administration outlines a broader, longer-term school integration agenda for the Biden/Harris administration’s first term, presenting 35 ideas for:

Developing Strong Policy to Support and Incentivize Integration Efforts Across the PK-12 Continuum

Strengthening Support and Accountability for Magnet Schools and Diverse-by-Design Charters

Enhancing Civil-Rights Enforcement Efforts Where Appropriate

Encouraging Cross-Agency/Cross-Sector Collaboration

Supporting Strong Civil-Rights Related Research and Data Collection at the Department of Education

Advancing a Holistic, Student-Centered Approach to Integration

Connecting Efforts to Increase Educator Diversity with Efforts to Increase Student Body Diversity

"Policy is, of course critical, but strong leadership that affirms the importance of school integration and the benefits of diverse schools for all children, etc. can inspire and encourage state and local leaders to act. We urge President Biden and Vice President Harris to provide that leadership."

--NCSD Policy Brief 12

JOIN AN EPIC 50 STATE CONVERSATION

Amplifying youth voice across the movement

NCSD's partnership with Epic Theater Ensemble and Dodd Human Rights Impact (UCONN)--and our focus on youth voice--continues to grow!

On May 17, the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, take part in a 50 state conversation about segregation (+ D.C. and Puerto Rico) centered around Epic's film NOTHING ABOUT US.

We'll be reporting our progress securing participants via @diverse_schools and @EpicTheatr on Twitter, using the map to the left.

How you can help:

We're seeking audience members, promoters, co-hosts, and creators (described here) across the country.

Connect us with with drama teachers, community theaters, and arts organizations in your state.

Share this information with your network.

Learn more and register here. You can also contact Jim Wallert at jim@epictheatreensemble.org.

Keep us in the loop if you are planning to commemorate the 67th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education on May 17th! (Info can be sent to gchirichigno@prrac.org.)

CONNECT WITH THE MAGNET COMMUNITY

Virtual Policy Conference - February 10-11, 2021

Magnet Schools of America's Policy Training Conference (February 10-11, 2021) is a great opportunity to learn about the complex federal, state and local policy issues that influence magnet school programs. Hear from top members of Congress and agency officials, including Gillian Cohen-Boyer (Director of Magnet Schools Assistance Program School Choice and Improvement Programs at the U.S. Department of Education). Alex Perry (Policy Advisor, Foresight Law+Policy) will also provide an overview of the most current policy issues in the federal magnet school policy landscape.

Check out the agenda and register today! Individual rates: $199 (MSA member) or $249 (non-member). Teams of 3: $498 (MSA member) or $648 (non-member).

DEADLINE THIS SUNDAY (1/31)!

Have You Heard Podcast - Graduate Student Research Contest

"Are you a graduate student whose research on K-12 or higher education is ready for the podcast limelight? Then we have 30 minutes of prime audio real estate with your name on it. Have You Heard is a biweekly education policy podcast, featuring scholar Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire. Seeking to move past the headlines and the talking points, the show presents important academic research in a humorous, easy-to-listen-to format. It may not be peer-reviewed, but Have You Heard does reach thousands of listeners with each episode, giving graduate students an audience many times larger than even the biggest AERA conference room."

NEWS FROM

ACROSS OUR

COUNTRY

In Memoriam: Gerald Nicholas Tirozzi

by Philip Tegeler

NCSD recently learned that Gerald Tirozzi passed away on November 1, 2020 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

We salute the late Gerald Tirozzi - former Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Education - for his moral leadership and courage for not taking the easy bureaucratic path. If only all of our public officials could follow his example!

Commissioner Tirozzi had an illustrious career, as President of Wheelock College, Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education at the Department of Education, and as the Executive Director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

But we remember him best for his leadership as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Education, where he had the courage to call out the gross inequities and segregation inherent in Connecticut’s education system in a January 1988 report titled Report on Racial and Ethnic Equity and Desegregation in Connecticut's Public Schools, The report called Connecticut’s segregated system ''educationally, morally and legally wrong.'' The report drew sharp criticism from suburban legislators, but ultimately became a foundational part of the Sheff v. O’Neill lawsuit filed by the Connecticut ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1989.

Commissioner Tirozzi understood the impacts of racial and economic segregation first hand, coming up as a teacher, principal, and superintendent in New Haven, one of the most segregated districts in the state, surrounded by exclusionary suburbs.

Read his obituary here.

From Susan Eaton (NCSD Steering Committee): "I first met Gerald Tirozzi when he was Connecticut's Commissioner of Education and I was a young newspaper reporter covering education in the state. Watching Dr. Tirozzi work taught me a lot about the state's politics and a lot more about integrity. He was a passionate, often outspoken champion for educational equity. I especially admired his courage to force conversations about segregation and racism in public education at a time when it was not to his political advantage. Dr. Tirozzi had considerable grit, a zillion great stories and a deep commitment to educators, children and families who worked and learned in the nation's public schools."

National -

Miguel Cardona’s Ideas About Education Were Forged in Meriden, CT. Now He Will Bring Them to Washington, D.C. by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Adria Watson (Connecticut Mirror, Jan. 19) - "Linda Darling-Hammond, an expert on teaching practices and currently the president of the Learning Policy Institute, said during an interview shortly after Biden nominated Cardona last month. 'He shows a deep understanding of teaching and learning and a very strong commitment to equity and the process of improving teaching that is just unusually well developed and very thoughtful. I remember thinking, ‘Wow. He really gets it.'”

As We Tackle School Segregation, Don’t Forget About English Learner Students by Diana Quintero and Michael Hansen (Brookings Institution, Jan. 14)

The Dark History of School Choice by Diane Ravitch (New York Review, Jan. 14) - "How an argument for segregated schools became a rallying cry for privatizing public education."

Iowa -

Iowa Lawmakers Moving Forward with Controversial School Bills by Chris Gothner (KCCI - Des Moines, Jan. 26) - "House Study Bill 64 would prevent districts from using voluntary diversity plans as a barrier to prevent higher-income families from enrolling their children in another school district."

Minnesota -

Gov. Tim Walz's School Spending Plan has Racial Equity Focus by Patrick Condon (Star Tribune, Jan. 25) - "'That includes proposals to tailor academic standards to be 'reflective of students of color and Indigenous students,' according to a plan summary. Another is an 'Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Center' within the Minnesota Department of Education to address systemic racism, to "ensure students receive an accurate history of Minnesota's Indigenous people" and to "develop and provide training for all school staff on anti-bias practices.'"

Missouri -

Closing Doors: Race and Opportunity in St. Louis Schools by Colin Gordon (Dissent Magazine, Jan. 6) - "Decisions about school catchment zones and district boundaries, or about where to build a school or where to close a school, are not just responses to demographic change. They are drivers of it. In St. Louis and elsewhere, district boundaries are either remnants of segregation or naked attempts to reinscribe it."

New York City -

New York Schools Are Segregated. Will the Next Mayor Change That? by Eliza Shapiro (New York Times, Jan. 29) - "'The plainest way to think of integration is that it is a proven and effective school improvement strategy,' said Matt Gonzales, the director of the Integration and Innovation Initiative at New York University’s Metro Center....Decades of research supports that view — not because there is alchemy found in diverse classrooms, but because integration redistributes resources, funding and power across schools. Mr. Gonzales said the candidates’ positions on this issue are not merely a signal of their progressive bona fides, but an essential way of understanding their approach to education."

Pennsylvania -

Pa. Supreme Court Refuses to Block Township’s Split from Dover Area School District by Matthew Miller (Pennlive.com, Jan. 21) - "The state Supreme Court has refused to block Washington Township’s secession from Dover Area School District and union with Northern York School District."

Virginia -

How Norfolk Became Segregated: the Century-Long Roots of the City’s ‘Dividing Lines’ by Mario Koran (The Virginian-Pilot, Jan. 27) - "'Least harm' really meant “least disruption of the status quo,' which at the time was represented by two segregated and unequal school systems divided by race. That segregation was precisely what Brown had said was causing harm."

Wisconsin -

Milwaukee was Already Failing Students of Color. Covid Made it Worse by Mario Koran (The Guardian, Jan. 27) - “'We talk about the losses students are suffering not being in school. But we have to remember, we’re talking about a system that was failing our Black and brown children long before coronavirus.'”

MEMBER UPDATES

New publication:

Black Segregation Matters: School Resegregation and Black Educational Opportunity. by Gary Orfield and Danielle Jarvie

Update:

Leaving Nice White Parents Behind in 2020: New Hopes for School Integration by Michelle Burris and Stefan Lallinger

Bridges Collaborative Member Spotlight: Howard County Public Schools’ Approach to Redistricting for Integration. by Emma Miller

Update:

Integrated Schools reflects on the Jan. 6th Capitol attack in a new blog - Untangling the Thread

Update:

APPLY NOW: The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program

Named in honor of the legendary civil rights attorney and NAACP LDF founder Thurgood Marshall, and iconic civil rights litigator Constance Baker Motley, the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program (MMSP) is a groundbreaking commitment to endow the South with the next generation of civil rights lawyers trained to provide legal advocacy of unparalleled excellence.

Learn more and apply here. Deadline Feb. 16.

Research Advisory Panel (RAP) member John B. Diamond along with co-authors Lynn Posey-Maddox, and María D. Velázquez published a new study, Reframing Suburbs: Race, Place, and Opportunity in Suburban Educational Spaces: "Racial inequality is built into the bedrock of suburbia, and this understanding of suburban schooling necessitates understanding how place and race intersect."

NCSD member Derek Black was featured in a webinar from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society on the Jan. 6th Capitol attack.

CROSS-MOVEMENT RESOURCE LIST

WATCH: Amanda Gorman reads inauguration poem, 'The Hill We Climb'

Amanda Gorman reads her poem "The Hill We Climb": She needs no introduction after stealing the show at the Inauguration, share her poem widely!

ICYMI: Teaching Tolerance released a lesson plan on how to engage student's on Amanda's poem.

Facing the Facts About Housing Injustice Will Help Pave the Way to Racial Equity by Margery Austin Turner, Solomon Greene, and Martha Galvez (Urban Institute, Jan. 26) - "Acknowledging the damage done by past federal policies and committing to healing are welcome first steps on the long and difficult path ahead toward long-overdue housing justice. Following the evidence will be the next."