{"id":7228,"date":"2011-05-28T18:49:42","date_gmt":"2011-05-28T22:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=7228"},"modified":"2011-06-01T14:55:56","modified_gmt":"2011-06-01T18:55:56","slug":"wake-county-public-so-far-we-like-the-blue-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2011\/05\/28\/wake-county-public-so-far-we-like-the-blue-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Wake County Public So Far: We Like the Blue Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The website offering details of new Wake County student assignment plans has received almost 170,000 page views since it went live Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The Wake County Public School System released unfinished versions of nine student assignment plans in order to solicit feedback from the community before hammering out the final details.<\/p>\n

The public has also offered 829 comments and downloaded more than 5,800 items.<\/p>\n

So far, comments have greatly favored the Blue Plan \u2014 one of the two frontrunners, along with the Green Plan, identified by Superintendent Tony Tata\u2019s student assignment task force.<\/p>\n

Two hundred eighty-two comments expressed a preference for the Blue Plan, compared to 70 comments siding with the Green Plan.<\/p>\n

The Blue Plan does away with the current system of nodes and base schools and offers several school choices in close proximity to a child\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

The Green Plan keeps base schools \u2014 the closest school to a residence.<\/p>\n

Both plans maintain the system of magnet schools and calendar options. Both plans also offer use student performance rankings to determine school choice.<\/p>\n

At a press briefing Friday, Tata acknowledged the public\u2019s desire to see details such as feeder patterns so that parents would know their children\u2019s options throughout their schooling years. Tata hopes to get the feeder patterns out within a week to 10 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very good process that we\u2019re going through right now,\u201d Tata said. \u201cYou could debate and say, \u2018Let\u2019s give a 99.9 percent, shrink-wrapped plan at a later date.\u2019 That doesn\u2019t give a chance to comment on it. It\u2019s already fully cooked and baked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tata said a number of comments questioned the role of academic achievement in the plans, expressing concern that shuffling low-performing kids is tantamount to shuffling low-income kids. The student assignment task force did not consider race or socioeconomic status in its process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be clear that it\u2019s not an option not to have [a student achievement component],\u201d said Tata. \u201cAcademic achievement is a fundamental driver in these plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get into a debate about socioeconomic status being a proxy for student achievement, what came first,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Tata and his team have set up eight public information sessions for the student assignment plans next week.<\/p>\n

Tata plans to present a \u201cframework\u201d \u2014 not a completed plan \u2014 to the Board of Education in mid-June. Final board approval of a new plan is set for September or October.<\/p>\n

Information Sessions<\/strong><\/p>\n

All information sessions begin at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, May 31<\/p>\n