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September 2, 2011

DOJ group to discuss Madison's academic disparities among racial minorities

Matthew DeFour:

An arm of the U.S. Department of Justice that mediates racial tension in communities is intervening in the debate over the achievement of racial minorities in the Madison School District.

The Justice Department's Community Relations Service won't discuss its role.

But in an email announcement this week, the Urban League of Greater Madison said DOJ this summer "raised concerns about academic achievement disparities among students of color in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) to the District's administration."

DOJ officials will participate in a meeting Wednesday called by the Urban League to discuss minority achievement, graduation rates and expulsion rates in the Madison district, according to Urban League President Kaleem Caire.

Related: the proposed Madison Preparatory Academy IB Charter school.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 2, 2011 1:01 AM
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Comments

Clearly there is a link between Caire's Madison Prep proposal and the sudden appearance of the Dept. of Justice at an Urban League forum on the racial achievement gap, coupled with the recent news that both the MMSD and DPI have been raising legal questions about the Madison Prep proposal. My experience in the MMSD has been that socioeconomics plays a larger role than race in the relative success and failure rates of students. If I had to follow my hunch, I'd say that this is all a precursor to a Civil Rights Complaint, the mediation of which will undoubtedly find Caire calling for Madison Prep's approval as a stipulation for the dismissal of said complaint.

Posted by: dadanonymous at September 2, 2011 1:30 PM

For those of you who voted for it, here it is. The full weight of the USDOJ into a local issue. The food you eat, the car you drive, the size of the house you want to live in, your doctor, what your children learn,how much water you use, or do you smoke in your house if anyone under 18 is there is all within reach of people who do not know you and who live almost a thousand miles away. When you can't take care of yourself and vote to allow others to do it, they will.
This article is so sad. So many talented teachers dedicated to do their best, yet stymied by poor curricula, poor management, and now threats of Federal intervention.

Posted by: Reed Schneider at September 2, 2011 9:13 PM

So some don't like the Feds getting involved? They may be thousands of miles away, but those 5 miles away don't seem able to do anything right.

It is likely that the Feds won't do anything either, except perhaps, use the law to force the local district to give others a chance to succeed.

The only thing that counts is success, not good will, not sympathy, not promises never fulfilled, not 5 year plans, not small learning communities, not high stakes testing, not an increase or decrease of budgets, not unions or union busting, not principals checking up on teachers, not multiple intelligences, not teacher professional development.

That is, where there is a success vacuum, at some point, people are going to use whatever angle is available to them to (try) to get what they want.

As I've stated many times before on this forum, adults can afford and do think long term. Kids do not need long term thinking, plans that are years in the making, etc. They need and desire the solution yesterday.

I'm afraid I don't see any solution. There are a thousand opinions and pseudo-science solutions to educational problems for every one thoughtful and good science/knowledge based solution. That is my guess, for I have maybe found a handful of good studies and real successes (short-lived) for the thousands of articles of nothing but drivel on the subject.

I have no doubt that the Prep school proposed by the Urban League, requiring sex-based segregation is just another wasted effort. Been tried before, failed before, nothing changed.


Posted by: Larry Winkler at September 3, 2011 10:24 PM

MLK: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Current Urban League: "We'll sort you out by your sex and color of skin because you are somehow different."

Doesn't the Urban League know what they are doing and/or implying here? Turning their backs on MLK and Brown v BOE is not a good idea.

Posted by: Reed Schneider at September 4, 2011 6:43 AM

Of course, like everyone else, they don't know what they are doing.

White, black, brown, yellow, orange, tan, red. The only important color, which is always ignored, is gray -- teach to the gray matter.

The last I heard, vaginas and penises don't have gray matter, so they shouldn't be taught to either.

Posted by: Larry Winkler at September 4, 2011 1:53 PM
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