By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
At its meeting on Nov. 18, the Jamesville-DeWitt board of education discussed the details of a Perception Institute findings summary regarding the school district.
The research group’s study concerned information drawn from district data surrounding both discipline and academics as well as surveys for educators.
The district surveyed its teachers, psychologists, service providers and counselors on their assessments of attitudes toward racial and ethnic diversity, the managing of diversity in classrooms and the highlighting of diverse perspectives in class discussions.
Amounting to 84% of the total number of teachers and staff members in the district, the 212 survey respondents indicated agreement to statements or scenarios on a seven-point scale.
According to Superintendent Peter Smith, 79% of respondents identified as white, 6% identified with a racial or ethnic background other than white and 16% did not disclose their race.
Additionally 20% of respondents labeled themselves with a background of upper middle class or richer, 47% identified as middle class, 19% said they belonged to the lower middle class or a poorer background and the remaining 14% did not specify their social grouping.
Smith said that 30% of the district’s elementary and middle school teachers, which he calls a “significant” portion, had no pre-service diversity training, while “just short” of 50% in the high school had gone through diversity training to an extent.
Nevertheless, 65% of the respondents felt prepared to meet the needs of diverse learners, and a majority expressed interest in future diversity training, according to the survey results.
The respondents showed agreement to such statements as “People of different races are the same on the inside even if they look different on the outside” and “Racial and ethnic minorities do not have the same opportunities as white people in the United States.”
The study showed that over 90% of district educators had confidence in working with and developing trusting relationships with students from diverse backgrounds.
However, respondents recorded a lesser degree of confidence in their ability to challenge students from diverse backgrounds.
The findings showed that educators’ confidence that their students will graduate from college lessened as diversity rose in classrooms above 30%.
The school district’s student body is 74.2% white, 9.1% Asian, 7.3% black, 5.5% multiracial, 3.6% Latino and 0.3% American Indian or Alaskan Native.
The Perception Institute study found an overrepresentation of black students (16%) for all types of referrals, Smith said.
The study also concluded that disciplinary severity at the middle school and high school for missed or skipped class came out higher for “students of color” than white students.
At the middle school, offenses for the refusal to follow directions and physical altercations meet a higher severity of discipline for students of color.
According to the data, white students received more severe disciplinary outcomes at the high school for insubordination and lack of cooperation than students of color.
“Economically disadvantaged” students face higher penalties for major offenses like threats and class safety violations in the district, the study shows.
The findings summary also showed that the more an educator believed in racial inequality, the more likely they were to punish white students with detentions or suspensions and the less likely they were to hand them no or minor consequences for their actions.
The study finds that the more an educator believed in racial inequality, the more likely they were to give students of color no or minor consequences and the less likely they were to give them detention or bring them to suspension.
The report further found that white, Asian and Pacific Islander students “consistently” score higher in English language arts and math compared to their black, “Latinx” and multiracial counterparts, while white and Asian students outscore their peers on the average Regents exam.
“This is not new to us,” Smith said. “We’ve been trying to close that gap.”
