The D15 Diversity Plan process has been established to create a community-based middle school diversity plan for School District 15 in Brooklyn, New York.
Download the 2018 Final Plan here.
Download the 2024 Evaluation here.
The New York City Department of Education (DOE) is committed to supporting schools and programs that reflect New York City’s diversity. On June 6, 2017, we shared Equity and Excellence for All: Diversity in New York City Public Schools. As part of this citywide school diversity plan, we are providing more formal support to community school districts in the development of district-level diversity plans. Our goal is to create a D15 Diversity Plan that will promote diversity in District 15’s middle schools and also be a model for district-level work across New York City. To best meet this goal, we are engaging community members, using their input to help shape the plan, and making data related to school diversity more transparent.
What’s Happening Now?
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The Department of Education worked with the urban planning and design firm WXY Studio and the D15 community to develop the D15 Diversity Plan over the 2017-2018 school year. Brooklyn’s School District 15 (Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Windsor Terrace) is a choice school district for middle schools—there are no zoned middle schools in the district, which means that its 11 middle schools do not serve a specific geographic area within District 15. Ten of these middle schools use a screened admissions method, which means they consider students’ grades, test scores, attendance, and/or other factors when making matches.
Starting in August 2017, DOE and WXY worked with community leaders and stakeholders to convene a project Working Group – responsible for ensuring an inclusive community process and for incorporating community feedback into a framework and set of recommendations. Since January 2018, three large Public Workshops and one final Community Presentation was held, reaching more than 500 D15 community members. Public Workshop #1 introduced the planning process and provided participants the opportunity to discuss the current middle school admissions process, segregation in D15 and the challenges related to integration. Public Workshop #2 touched briefly on the historical roles of racism and segregation, examined how the D15 population has changed over time, and provided community members with an opportunity to share their ideas on how to integrate schools and to create inclusive school environments. At Public Workshop #3, community members provided feedback on a set of initial draft recommendations. Feedback from this workshop was used to further refine the ideas presented. A final set of draft recommendations was presented at a Community Presentation in June.
What Comes Next?
The D15 Diversity Plan Working Group released its final plan on August 3, 2018 and is currently being reviewed by the department. The DOE’s current timeline for responding to the Working Group and the District 15 community is the end of the summer. As the DOE reviews and responds to these recommendations, the DOE will make sure its response is thorough and answers the outstanding questions that it has heard from the community about how to make sure that any approved recommendations are implemented in a thoughtful way. The DOE will make sure that any changes are explained to the community in an easy to understand way, and will continue to engage the community to discuss what any changes will look like as we head into the next school year.
About the Process
Introduction
We are committed to creating a D15 Diversity Plan shaped by the values and priorities of District 15’s diverse community and to developing specific and actionable recommendations. The planning process will directly engage community members, use their input as the basis for recommendations, and make data related to school diversity more transparent. The planning process will engage a wide range of topics related to school diversity which may include; race, equity, admissions policies, culturally responsive curricula, overcrowding, school quality, resource allocation, safety, restorative justice and staff representation, among others. Community input will guide which specific areas of diversity our research, discussion, and meetings will focus on.
Potential Areas of Focus
Areas of focus will be developed based on public workshop findings and on Working Group discussions—they may include the following:
- Equitable Resource Allocation
- Admissions Policies & Information
- Overcrowding
- School Environment & Activities
Phases
The four phases of the D15 Diversity planning process are:
- Introduction – Finalize roles and responsibilities. Introduce the planning process.
- Framing – Gather and prioritize community concerns and insights.
- Options – Show through data analysis and presentation how different options could affect District 15 and gather feedback.
- Plan – Create a final plan and present it to the community.
Goals
The final District 15 Diversity Plan will include findings and recommendations informed by the Public Workshops and produced by Working Group members with the support of WXY and the DOE. The role of the Diversity Plan is:
- To inform the DOE’s D15 diversity planning and related diversity initiatives.
- To develop a community-based road map for short- and long-term improvements in district-level diversity.
- To ensure our long-term accountability to community residents.
Roles
D15 Community
The District 15 community plays an important role throughout the diversity planning process. If you live in District 15, we actively seek your input in public workshops and through other community engagement and public outreach activities. Feedback collected from community members will serve as the foundation for the plan’s framework and recommendations.
Working Group
The members of the D15 Diversity Plan Working Group—stakeholders from across District 15—are guiding the planning process. They are tasked with keeping the process inclusive, accessible, and accountable to all D15 residents. This group also works to; generate interest in public workshops, review and provide feedback on community findings, and, to use these findings to shape the plan’s framework and recommendations. Working Group Participants:
- Center for Family Life, SCO Family of Services
- Chinese Planning Council
- Coalition for Equitable Schools in District 15
- Community Education Council District 15
- District 15 Elementary School Principal – P.S. 32
- District 15 Middle School Principal – M.S. 51
- District 15 Middle School Teacher – M.S. 88
- District 15 Parents for Middle School Equity
- District 15 Superintendent
- IntegrateNYC
- Literacy Coach – P.S. 24
- New York City Department of Education, Central Staff
- PTA President – P.S. 1
- PTA Secretary – M.S. 821
- Red Hook Community Justice Center
- SLT Parent Member – M.S. 821
Public Workshops
The public workshops are organized around the four phases of the D15 Diversity planning process: (1) Introduction – to introduce the community planning and engagement process, (2) Framing – to gather and prioritize insights from community members that will give direction to initiatives and actions, (3) Options – to present draft recommendations and to gather feedback, and (4) to present final draft recommendations to community members.
Advisory Groups
Facilitators
The facilitators ensure that information and resources are shared across meetings, topic areas, and roles. They work directly with the Working Group and Community Members to develop implementable recommendations for the D15 Diversity Plan.
- DOE: The New York City Department of Education.
- WXY: An urban planning and design firm with a focus on civic projects in NYC.
- Border Crossers: An organization which trains and empowers educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice.
Process Materials
- Public Workshop #1 Presentation
- Public Workshop #1 Booklet (English)
- Public Workshop #1 Booklet (Español)
- Public Workshop #1 Booklet (中文)
- Public Workshop #2 Presentation
- Public Workshop #2 Booklet (English)
- Public Workshop #2 Booklet (Español)
- Public Workshop #2 Booklet (中文)
- D15 Middle School Eligibility
- D15 Middle School Travel Patterns
- Offer Score Methodology
- Public Workshop #3 Boards
- Planning Process Guide
- Final Community Presentation
- Final Recommendations
- Final Plan
- D15 Newspaper
Contact
Want to get involved or learn more?
Email us at diversity@schools.nyc.gov
Or call us at (718) 935-2212.