Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 02120084
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED336461 AUTHOR: Davidson, Mary E.; And Others
TITLE: The Town Meetings. Occasional Paper Number One.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1984
NOTE: 20 p.; For a complete set of Commission Reports, see
UD 028 213-233.
ABSTRACT: During the 1983-84 school year the Office of
Equal Educational Opportunity (OEEO) of the Chicago
(Illinois) Board of Education organized 11 Desegregation
Town Meetings to enlist parents and citizens in carrying
out a court mandated school desegregation plan. The
meetings provided the following information: (1) the
priorities of the desegregation plan; (2) the functions of
the OEEO; (3) the relationship of parents to the local
schools; and (4) the allocation of OEEO funds. Each meeting
included presentations on several of the following topics:
(1) effective schools; (2) magnet schools/student
transfers; (3) finance and budget; (4) bilingual education;
(5) affirmative action; (6) special education; (7) the High
School Renaissance Program; and (8) the Uniform Discipline
Code. Audience size varied according to the location of the
meeting, and the racial composition of the audience
generally reflected the racial composition of the
respective neighborhood. Questions and comments from the
audiences reflected the problems of the particular
districts. An observer who attended 10 of the 11 meetings
reported that all of the panelists at all of the meeetings
were well prepared and that informational packets were
distributed at every meeting. Problems included the failure
to provide a translator and information packets in Spanish
at a meeting in a predominantly Hispanic American
neighborhood, the inability of panelists to answer some
questions, and the difficulty of drawing large audiences.
Statistical data are presented in two tables. (FMW)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Compliance-Legal; Parent-School
Relationship; School-Community-Relationship; School
Desegregation; Urban-Schools
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *Community-Support; *Desegregation-Plans;
*Meetings-; *Parent-Participation; *Racial-Integration
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