District 15 Community Education Council

Empowering Parents to Claim Excellent Education for All Students

131 Livingston Street, Room 301, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718 935-4267 Fax: 718 935-4356
CEC15@schools.nyc.gov
www.facebook.com/#!/CECD15

Resolution on Diversity
The Community Education Council for Community School District 15 (CEC-15) reaffirms its commitment to embrace and value our diverse student
population and community. We believe that diversity, in all its forms, is an essential element of schools that offer academic excellence. Therefore, District
15 should have schools that reflect its diversity.
WHEREAS:
District 15 has been and remains one of the most diverse Community School Districts in all of New York City - both in terms of student race/ethnicity as
well as parent class/incomes;
WHEREAS:
While that diversity has continued overall, it has progressively declined in many of our individual schools;
WHEREAS:
All students should be afforded the opportunity to attend and learn in diverse schools.
WHEREAS:
Our public schools are the very foundation of good citizenship. (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). Thus, developing and sustaining diverse schools
furthers that goal of quality education for all
WHEREAS:
CEC-15 has been in the forefront of advancing educational diversity in New York City. In particular, for the first time during the entire Bloomberg
Administration and despite the resistance of those then in charge of the Department of Education, we successfully procured an admissions policy at the
newly reopened PS 133 which expressly gave admissions preference to English Language Learners and children eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch.
WHEREAS:
Although the plan to maintain social and economic integration at PS 133 is not the only means to extend and maintain diversity, it does provide a useful
framework in assessing future controlled choice admissions proposals, should they arise.
WHERE FORE IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED:
The Community Education Council for District 15 reaffirms its commitment to embrace and promote a diverse and integrated student population that
reflects our community.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

Through this resolution, the CEC requests that the DOE work with the CEC and other community members to develop admissions plans for
new schools that promote diversity through the following:

Support CEC 15 in initiating a community-engagement process to establish a definition of an integrated school system for District 15 that is
meaningful, practical, and embraces measures of diversity, including but not limited to, ethnicity, socio-economic status, English language
proficiency and ability/special needs;

Collaborate with CEC 15 and the Superintendent to engage the community in the development of a comprehensive, district-wide diversity
strategy to maximize the number of schools that meet the districts definition of diversity and to meet the needs of students in schools that
do not meet the definition;

Collaborate with CEC 15 and the Superintendent to support schools that are making strong efforts to achieve diversity through outreach,
admissions process, transportation, resources, and support for students and families.


AND IT IS ALSO RESOLVED:

To advance the above directives, the Community Education Council District 15 requests that the DOE:

Issue a policy statement that the DOE shall promote integrated and diverse schools;

Work with CEC 15, local elected officials and the larger community to promote diversity for new schools and ensure that admission and
enrollment plans promote diversity when requested by stakeholders.

Instigate the collection, analysis, and reporting of information that will demonstrate whether the DOE is following its policy declaration in
promoting diverse schools in D15 consistent with community support; and

Develop a parent and community leader-driven Education Diversity Task Force as a vehicle to promote and strengthen the number of diverse
schools in CEC 15.

Commit to the maintenance or expansion of diversity as a priority when drawing or re-drawing zone lines.

Create a system that supports and encourages families, when they are in a position to choose a school, to select schools based on
multifaceted criteria that go beyond test-driven and written assessments that can reflect and exacerbate inequalities.