It’s unanimous! School board votes to approve new student assignment plan

Calling it a historic moment and invoking the words of Horace Mann, the Jefferson County Board of Education unanimously approved Superintendent Sheldon Berman’s recommendation to revise the district’s student assignment plan during a special, called meeting on May 28 at the VanHoose Education Center.

The significant elements of the new plan include:

  • Organizing the district into two geographic areas, Geographic Area A and Geographic Area B based on the following multiple demographic characteristics: the percentage of minority students in the elementary resides area, the median household income per household member in the elementary resides area, and the educational attainment of adults age 25 and over in the elementary resides area.
  • Expanding the definition of minority students from African-American students to all students who are non-white.
  • Arranging elementary schools into six contiguous clusters to provide a more equitable distribution of the multiple criteria across the clusters.
  • Assigning students to schools based upon the geographic area in which they reside. The race of an individual student will not be used.
  • Establishing a guideline for all schools to have enrollment of no less than 15 percent and no more than 50 percent of students who reside in Geographic Area A. This guideline shall not apply to alternative or special schools.
  • Allowing students enrolled in grades 1-4 for the 2008-09 school year to remain in their elementary assignments unless there is a change of the home address.

The new plan will take effect for the 2009-10 school year. Highlighted below are the details of the recommendations approved by the board.

Recommendations

A. Diversity and Educational Quality

  1. The school district shall maintain educational and financial equity among all schools in the district by providing substantially uniform educational resources to all schools in the district regardless of the location of the school, the demographic composition of the school, or the type of education program provided. The school district shall actively seek and obtain all types of additional intervention and compensatory resources for all eligible students and schools.
  2. The Board of Education affirms its commitment to the Guiding Principles of diversity, quality, choice, predictability, stability, and equity.
  3. The school district shall (a) make provisions for staff development, which prepares all staff to work successfully with all students regardless of racial, ethnic, socio-economic, parental education, and cultural backgrounds; (b) promote and encourage the use of effective and innovative instructional strategies in classrooms throughout the district; and (c) actively continue to seek more teachers, counselors, and administrators from diverse backgrounds, including members of racial and ethnic minority groups.

B. Strategies for Achieving Diverse Enrollment

  1. The district shall implement a diversity guideline requiring that all schools, including Brandeis Elementary School and grades 1-5 at the Brown School, shall have a minimum enrollment of 15 percent and a maximum enrollment of 50 percent of students who reside in the areas of Jefferson County designated as Geographic Area A. This guideline shall not apply to special schools and alternative schools, or to Central High School Magnet Career Academy, or duPont Manual/YPAS, or to grades 6-12 at the Brown School until such time as the superintendent returns to the board for approval of further recommendations for middle and high schools. The diversity guideline shall apply to students assigned in grades 1-12, with the exception of students who are enrolled in self-contained Exceptional Child Education (ECE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
  2. The boundaries of Geographic Area A shall be comprised of those elementary school resides areas in which the majority of students reside in census blocks that are below the average median household income per household member and below the district average for the educational attainment of people aged 25 or older and above the district average for the percentage of JCPS minority students. The boundaries of Geographic Area B shall be comprised of those elementary school resides areas in which the majority of students reside in census blocks that are above the average median household income per household member or above the district average for the educational attainment of people age 25 or older or below the district average for the percentage of JCPS minority students. The boundaries of Geographic Areas A and B may be changed in the future, based on changes in the underlying demographic data or changes in the elementary school resides areas.
  3. Schools shall work cooperatively with each other and with central office to ensure that the enrollment of each school is within the diversity guideline annually or that schools are making satisfactory progress toward achieving the diversity guideline.
  4. Program capacity shall continue to be established for each school based on factors such as: size of facility, size of student population, program placement, class-size guidelines, workstations, and facility utilization.
  5. The school district shall continue to implement a funding formula through which schools shall receive per-pupil funding for enrollment that is within the agreed-upon designated program capacity formula.
  6. Elementary schools shall be grouped into contiguous clusters to facilitate the attainment of a diverse enrollment in each school.
  7. Kindergarten students shall be assigned to the school that serves the area in which they reside unless: (1) the school has reached building/program capacity; (2) the student applies for and is granted placement at another school in the cluster; (3) the student applies for and is granted placement into a magnet school/program or optional program; or (4) the student applies for and receives a transfer to a school in another cluster. If a school has reached building/program capacity, a student may be assigned to another school in the cluster.
  8. Students in grades 1-5 shall be assigned to the school that serves the area in which they reside unless: (1) the school has reached building/program capacity; (2) the school has reached the extremes of the diversity guideline; (3) the student applies for and is granted placement at another school in the cluster; (4) the student applies for and is granted placement into a magnet school/program or optional program; or (5) the student applies for and receives a transfer to a school in another cluster. If a school has reached building/program capacity or the extremes of the diversity guideline, a student may be assigned to another school in the cluster.
  9. Students enrolled in grades 1-4 for the 2008-09 school year may remain in their elementary assignments unless there is a change of the home address.
  10. All sixth- through eighth-grade students, except those students identified in item Bl, shall be assigned to the middle school that serves the area in which they reside unless: (1) the school has reached building/program capacity; (2) the school has reached the extremes of the diversity guideline; (3) the student applies to and is granted placement into a magnet/optional school/program; (4) the student applies to and is granted placement into another middle school under the open enrollment program; or (5) the student applies for and receives a transfer.
  11. All ninth- through twelfth-grade students, except those students identified in item Bl, shall be assigned to the high school that serves the area in which they reside unless: (1) the school has reached building/program capacity; (2) the school has reached the extremes of the diversity guideline; (3) the student applies to and is granted placement into a magnet/optional school/program; (4) the student applies to and is granted placement into another high school under the open enrollment program; or (5) the student applies for and receives a transfer.
  12. Lincoln Elementary and Whitney Young elementary schools will become district-wide magnet schools. Lincoln's resides area will be redistricted to Breckinridge-Franklin, Roosevelt-Perry, and Shelby. This will impact 196 students. Students enrolled at Lincoln in grades 1-4 for the 2008-09 school year may continue to attend Lincoln. These students will participate in the magnet school program. Students not wishing to participate in the magnet school program may participate in the cluster exchange in the newly assigned cluster. Kindergarten and first-grade students for the 2009-10 school year may make application to attend the Lincoln magnet school. Young's resides area would be redistricted to Foster and Byck. This will impact 421 students. Students enrolled at Young in grades 1-4, for the 2008-09 school year, may continue to attend Young. These students will participate in the magnet school program. Students not wishing to participate in the magnet school program may participate in the cluster exchange in the newly assigned cluster. Kindergarten and first-grade students for the 2009-10 school year will make application to attend the Young magnet school. The district shall implement a process for identifying additional or expanded magnet schools, magnet programs, or optional programs to enhance implementation of the Student Assignment Plan.
  13. The following boundary changes will be made: Part of Okolona Elementary will be redistricted to Slaughter Elementary. This would impact 121 students. Part of Slaughter Elementary (airport area—no students affected) will be redistricted to Minors Lane Elementary. Part of Hartstern Elementary will be redistricted to Rangeland Elementary. This will impact 216 students. Part of Breckinridge-Franklin Elementary will be redistricted to Shelby. This will impact 218 students.

The superintendent may recommend additional adjustments to school attendance boundaries (resides areas) and placement of programs as necessary to implement the diversity guideline and to accommodate the building or program capacity.

C. Administration, Monitoring and Accountability for Diverse Enrollments

  1. The implementation of the Student Assignment Plan shall be coordinated and assisted by the Department of Student Assignment, Health, and Safety.
  2. The superintendent or designee shall monitor implementation of the Student Assignment Plan and shall make periodic reports to the board regarding implementation of the Plan.
  3. The school district shall continue to use the centralized application process for students who are interested in magnet schools, magnet programs, or optional programs, or high school open enrollment. The school district shall monitor and provide final approval for assignment of students to magnet schools, magnet programs, optional programs, and high school open enrollment. Magnet schools, magnet programs, optional programs, and high school open enrollment shall be monitored for quality and recruitment strategies that facilitate the provisions of the Student Assignment Plan.
  4. All students enrolled in the eighth grade in the district's Traditional Program and Brown School shall reaffirm their commitment to those programs as a condition of enrollment in those programs at the high school level.
  5. The school district shall implement a consistent process for informing parents about the Student Assignment Plan and available choices. Schools shall have the major responsibility for providing information to parents and the Parent Assistance Center shall provide support to parents in the selection/assignment process.
  6. The Department of Student Assignment, Health, and Safety shall develop and implement appropriate training and orientation on the Student Assignment Plan and its goals for the staff in all schools.
  7. The Department of Student Assignment, Health, and Safety shall develop and implement appropriate orientation and training for principal candidates, new principals, and current principals on the Student Assignment Plan and its goals.
  8. The school district shall include in the job descriptions of principals and appropriate central office staff a requirement that each be responsible for implementation of the Student Assignment Plan.
  9. Any school that does not make satisfactory progress toward achieving the diversity guideline shall develop a plan and process, with district support, to work toward compliance in a timely manner.
  10. The superintendent shall be authorized to take all actions necessary to implement these recommendations.

The May 28 school board meeting will be aired in its entirety on Monday, June 2, beginning at 7 p.m. on Insight Channel 98.

To view the revised maps and the list of schools that would make up each cluster, click below.

Contiguous Map Click here
Contiguous cluster list of schools Click here