Well once again District 281 is obsessing about integration. Here is latest news in Affirmative Action goals. From the Sun Post;
At the July 9 school board meeting, Asst. Supt. Dr. Gayle Walkowiak shared the results of a two-year study. Among the findings: of the 260 participants in elective band classes at Plymouth Middle School in 2012, just 20 percent were students of color. While 38 percent of the 169 students participating in orchestra were students of color and for choir it was 30 percent of the 414 students participating. Plymouth Middle’s total school population is 41 percent students of color.
The numbers were comparable at Robbinsdale Middle School, which also offers the arts as elective classes – 47 percent for band, 44 percent for orchestra and 52 percent for choir. Sixty-two percent of that school’s total population is made up of students of color.
At the high school level, 12 percent of Armstrong High School’s band class was made up of students of color. While one-quarter of the students signed up for both the orchestra and choir were students of color. In visual arts classes, the number was a bit higher – 36 percent. Thirty-seven percent of Armstrong’s population is made up of students of color.
And at Cooper High School where 63 percent of the population is made up of students of color, 22 percent of the band, 24 percent of the orchestra and 38 percent of the choir participants are students of color. Visual arts classes, meantime, had 70 percent participation from students of color.
So what is the solution? Should we have quotas? Should we tell white kids to go home?
The numbers were also low when it came to participation by students of color in honors courses at the middle and high school levels during the 2011/2012 school year – 20 percent at Plymouth Middle School, 35 percent at Robbinsdale Middle School, 22 percent at Armstrong High School and 38 percent at Cooper High School.
Honor courses? Don’t you have to earn that? What should we do; dumb down the standards? Kick white kids out?
Here are some genius comments on the subject;
“The numbers are way too low. A lot of work needs to be done across the board in these areas,” said Walkowiak during the meeting.
“I think it is a good goal to increase minority participation in these areas, fine arts as well as the challenging academics,” added School Board member Tom Walsh.
And your ideas are…….
281 Exposed 
July 31, 2012 at 5:35 pm |
I had heard some rumor that they were looking at lowering the admissions standards into the pre-AP classes at PMS. I am hoping that it is unfounded.
First, it will put the questionable kids in over their heads if they keep the work load constant. Second, it is important to keep those classes extremely rigorous if they want to keep attracting academically focused families. RAS Pre-AP/ IBMYP
I think Tom and Gayle should stay focused on getting 95% of the students to pass the basic expectations first.