Design large, contiguous, heterogeneous attendance zones with equivalent programs and limited transport time¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The guide specifies zone design rules: "Zones should be large enough to encompass heterogeneous population groups but small enough to limit student transportation time toand from school within the zone to not more than thirty, thirty-five, or forty minutes." Zones should aggregate contiguous neighborhoods of different population groups to avoid the appearance of gerrymandering, encompass equivalent educational programs, and reflect districtwide racial composition, with a minority critical mass of at least one-fifth.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Zones built from contiguous neighborhoods; equivalent range of programs and services across zones

Constraints¶

• Modest variation from districtwide racial composition is permitted, but the minority population may not fall below one-fifth of the zonewide student body

Target Learners¶

• all students in a district using zone-based controlled choice

Target Learning Objectives¶

• proportional access to all schools and programs

Claims¶

Related Strategies¶

• Districts supporting neighborhood schools should plan for continually shifting student populations and mobility-driven capacity demands

Related Principles¶

• Use choice data as a referendum to identify and improve least-chosen schools rather than magnetizing only the best
• Implement desegregation, choice, and school improvement simultaneously rather than incrementally

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Willie, Charles V.; Alves, Michael J. (1996). Controlled Choice: A New Approach to School Desegregated Education and School Improvement. Education Alliance Press. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED430265