Reexamining Our Policies with an Equity Lens

The current design of MPS disadvantages children of color. Too many can't read or do math at grade-level, and others don't feel valued in their schools or receive the individualized support they need to succeed. 

Through our initial work on the Comprehensive District Design, we have identified numerous policies and procedures that reinforce system inequities within MPS. Our work now is to repeal or change these policies to support improved student achievement among students of color. 

Some Policies We're Reexamining

• 5260B - Residency: This policy no longer reflects the reality of students’ living situations, but is address-driven and limits school choice options, particularly for students of color, and can reinforce historical patterns of segregation.
• 6120 - Educational Choices: This policy is built around antiquated assumptions about how our families live, who they are, and their access to resources and information. It should be redesigned to fit current reality.

Rethinking Processes to Support Student Achievement

The current interview process for assigning teachers to buildings reinforces existing patterns of educational inequities. Under the current process, schools serving the most advantaged students attract teaching applicants with more MPS teaching experience than schools serving the least-advantaged. The average years of experience for a teacher serving a school in the top 20% of reading scores is 17.4, compared to 10.9 years of experience in a school in the bottom 20% of reading scores.