At a November 1st school board meeting Justin Reese, McCaskey principal, told board members, “We’re excited about what we’re seeing from our students and our faculty…more than 30% of McCaskey students of color will enroll and successfully complete advanced courses by June 30, 2025″ Reese said.
Note that McCaskey is a school district where minority enrollment accounts for approximately 85% of students and the Principal is touting a goal where only 30% of those successfully completing advanced courses are “students of color.” Does this mean that in a school where an overwhelming majority of students represent a minority group the advanced classes are comprised of more than 70% white students?
Perhaps a contributing factor to such a failure by the school would be the focus of the board and administrators. For example, Karen Wynn, who directs the district’s instructional programming and professional development, stated that the district is updating book titles for ninth- and 10th-graders to better teach English/language arts goals and to offer choices that resonate with teens. The group looks to included ethnic and sexual preference diversity among book characters and authors.