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Published Thu, Jul 29, 2010 02:00 AM
Modified Thu, Jul 29, 2010 12:10 AM

Seeming and being

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Tags: news | opinion - mailbag

Regarding the controlled choice model providing a compromise in the Wake County student assignment debate: I have spent months telling the WCPSS school board that consensus is possible on this issue if we consider proximity, stability and diversity.

The former policy 6200 is not the only direction forward. Controlled choice is thought to potentially provide that compromise because socioeconomic diversity is considered when designing the assignment zones. However, I am perplexed about how the school board members propose to develop assignment zones that consider diversity after their blind ideological crusade to completely eliminate diversity from all considerations of student assignment.

If they're going to seriously consider diversity in the assignment zones, don't they need to change the student assignment policy back to including diversity in the factors under consideration?

Please, let us not forget that this discussion is not about Debra Goldman's intentions but is about the very real consequences of ignoring concentrated poverty on student achievement as well as our society as a whole.

I sincerely hope that my skepticism is misguided, but, at the moment, controlled choice looks to me like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Matt Duvall

Raleigh

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