Defining Min Grp Isolation Fed Funded Magnet Schools Pho

Defining Minority Group Isolation in Federally Funded Magnet Schools Interview Protocol (Telephone)

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Interviewer ID: ___ ___

Interview Date: ___ ___ / ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ Interview Time: ___ ___ : ___ ___ AM PM

Grantee Name: _________________________________________________

Project Director: _______________________________________________ Telephone: (__ __ __) __ __ __ - __ __ __ __

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. It will take about 30 minutes. We are trying to understand how school districts that receive MSAP awards define minority group isolation and to learn about the strategies that the district uses to address minority group isolation. There are no right or wrong answers, we are simply trying to gain an understanding of how magnet schools are navigating the new legal landscape around school diversity in order to provide assistance going forward.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

DISTRICT DESEGREGATION GOALS

1. How does the district define diversity or minority group isolation or imbalance?

2. How are magnet schools aligned with the broader district’s plan to promote diversity or reduce minority group isolation?

3. Have there been any changes to the district’s desegregation plan since you received an MSAP grant? [Offer following options: yes/no]

4. Do you think school desegregation affects the quality of education students receive? [Offer following options: yes/no]

CHANGES

5. Can you tell me a little bit about the definitions of minority group isolation that were used for district magnets in the past, especially prior to 2007?

6. Did the district receive guidance around the legality of race-conscious strategies after the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Parents Involved? [Offer following options: none, a little, some, a lot]

7. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education removed MSAP regulations that required districts to use binary racial classifications like minority/nonminority and that prohibited districts from creating magnets that resulted in minority group isolation greater than the district wide average of minority group students. What kind of changes, if any, did you observe in how the district defined minority group isolation once the regulation was enacted?

1. Follow up: (If changes are noted) With the changes in definitions and strategies, has it taken more or less time to meet goals than in the past?

8. Are other state policies (or larger district policies in places like NYC) shaping your definitions or strategies? [Offer following options: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree]

   1. Follow up: If you agree, what is your opinion of these policies?

9. Which schools in your district do you think have most completely implemented the MGI goals and have been most successful?

10. Are there key people who have been responsible for success? [offer following options: central office personnel, principals, teachers, others]

11. Are there any particular resources or materials that would be helpful in further implementing changes? [offer following options: technical assistance, research on successful practices, other]

ENROLLMENT

1. Does the district welcome out-of-district students to enroll?

2. Does the district offer free transportation to these out of district students? [offer following options: yes/no]

3. Do the out-of-district students positively or negatively affect the MGI goals?

12. Are there magnet schools in the district not currently funded by MSAP? [offer following options: yes, no]

4. If yes, what’s different (if anything) about those magnets and the MSAP funded magnets? [admissions such as test-based or GPA, recruitment practices, other?]