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Admissions Criteria and Equity: To insure that this school does not follow a pattern of becoming accessible only to those from certain backgrounds and communities (i.e. white and upper income), I hope they will be vigilant about having criteria for admissions that are not exclusionary in outcome and that grow out of a commitment to having an excellent school with students from diverse backgrounds, “skill” levels, and experiences. Educational excellence and an equitable admissions policy are completely compatible, and I believe it is something to insist upon. If we are having a new school that focuses on writing, I hope it will have students with a real range of writing skills and experience, where everyone’s potential can be unleashed and can flourish.
Why not look at schools that have done that successfully to insure that this school doesn’t simply add to the number of segregated and unequal schools our district already has. Schools that have, for example, 50% or more white students in a city where the high school population is 11% white have presumptively discriminatory admissions policies.
Of course we all want the best education for our children, and none of us wants it to be at the expense of others. However, this is what happens when we create more schools that subtly or not so subtly privilege some families over others.

2) Who is at the table: I am interested in learning more about the history of how this proposal developed. I think how a proposal begins and develops ultimately impacts who it ends up serving and favoring. I hope the committee working on it is multiracial and multilingual, and that its members come from different economic backgrounds, communities, and neighborhoods. We all come from our own perspective so widening those perspectives from the beginning can make a huge difference.

A school that reflects our different histories, communities, migration experiences, ways of learning is not only a school that promotes the equity our children deserve but also provides a far greater and richer educational experience for all our children.

I hope these and other issues can continue to be raised as we try to insure that our public schools remain accessible to all our families.

Donna Nevel