Middle School Teaching Units

You know that racial gap that’s getting so much attention? Well, I’m thrilled that it’s on the minds of politicians, because it’s a problem. Unfortunately, it’s a problem with some pretty deep roots. In 1971, San Jose Public Schools had a dilemma. It seemed to parents that the schools were knowingly and purposely segregating students. Hispanics were the group most targeted in this segregation. So some parents filed a class action suit with the intention of forcing the district to remedy the situation.

San Jose Schools began to address and remedy the problem. For 18 years – from 1985 when the Federal Court Order was settled, to 2003 when they were able to demonstrate that they had complied with it, the district has implemented the changes required by the court order.

A large urban school district, San Jose Schools serve approximately 32,000 students. San Jose Schools are located fifty miles south of San Francisco, in the heart of the Silicon Valley. This is a geographic area of over fifty square miles. The eleventh largest urban school district in California, it has thirty-one elementary schools, seven middle schools, and seven high schools.

The student population is:

31% Anglo 49% Hispanic 13% Asian

3% Black 4% other.

From 1985 to 2003, San Jose Schools followed the plan Continue Reading