DOCUMENT RESUME ED 260 146 UD 024 344 AUTHOR McKenna, Charles D.; Uchitelle, Susan TITLE Voluntary Interdistrict Coordinating Council forthe Settlement Agreement. Report No. 1. INSTITUTION Voluntary,Interdistrict Coordinating Council, St. Louis, MO. PUB DATE 31 Jul 84 NOTE 193p.; Prepared for the Federal District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. Portions of,ppendix B may be marginally legible. For reportnumber 2, see UD 024 345. PUB TYPE Reports - Evaluative/Feasibility (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Desegregation Plans; Educational Legislation; Elementary Secondary Education; Enrollment; Magnet Schools; *Metropolitan Areas; *School Desegregation; *School Districts; Special Education; Staff Development; Student Transportation; TeacherExchange Programs; *Transfer Programs; *Transfer Students IDENTIFIERS *Missouri ABSTRACT This report addresses those activities for whichthe Voluntary Interdistrict Coordinating Council(VICC) is responsible, namely, to coordinate and administer thestudent transfer and voluntary teacher exchange provisions of thecourt-ordered desegregation settlement agreement for the St.Louis Metropolitan area. The report covers1983-84, the first year of implementation. Recruitment efforts were extensive and theanticipated enrollment of 2,886 city students into county schools couldhave been met but for a court stay on additional transfers.Although numbers of transfers were good, it was recognizedthat in future it will be necessary to increase the number of transfers from county tocity schools. Parents were given the opportunity tovisit the new schools with their children. Involvement in this program of students,parents, teachers, and administrators throughout the St.Louis metropolitan area was significant. The range of part-time programopportunities was broad in numbers and scope. The VICC approved aresearch project to provide feedback to assist the implementation of thesettlement agreement in future years. Data collected by the VICC after a yearof operation shows that transfer students arebecoming an integral part of their new schools. Seven percentof students transferring city 7.0 county were referred for specialeducation evaluation; 93 percent of students had no major disciplinary problems;and 90 percent were promoted. The attendance rate was commendable. Theoverall acceptance of the settlement agreement has beennoticeable. Appendices list VICC and subcommittee membership, supply samplesof recruitment and publicity materials, and provid:: information onpart-time programs. (RDN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that canbe made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Il(3279)84 BEST COPY AVAILABLE VOLUNTARY INTERDISTRICT COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT REPORT NO. 1 e. SUBMITTED BY DR. CHARLES D.. MCKENNA. CHAIRMAN AND DR. SUSAN UCHITELLE. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 4/This document has been reproduced a received from the person or organization originating it vacwJeil 1.!4J2441 Minor changes have been made to improve G4A4-14.4 reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this docu rnent do not necessarily rePresen official NIE INFORMATION CENTER -Vila" position or polity FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT EASTE1N DISTRICT OF MISSOURI JULY 31. 1984 2 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FIRST YEAR Implementation of the first year of the Settlement Agree- ment was more impressive than one would have anticipated, particularly with the late start,the stay on additional transfers at a critical period of time, initial transportation disruption, and the addition of new districts. However, the degree of implementation of many phases of the Settlement Agreement attests to the hard work and cooperative efforts of everyone involved. Recruitment efforts were extensive this spring. They included mailings to homes of students; both in the county and the city; billboards; bus posters; wall posters; and radio and television announcements. Anticipated enrollment of city students into county schools for 1983 was 2,886 and that number could have been met since there were 4,489 applications -n file at the VICC office in September when the United states Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a stay on additional transfers from the city on September 30.After that datethe only student transfers permitted were from county to county and from county to city. At the end of the first year of the Settlement Agreement, there were 351 county studentsattending4gityschools and 2,496 transfer students attending county schools (end of April, 1984). Of the 2,496 transfer students, 2,204 were city to county transfers and 292 were county-to-county transfers. While these numbers were good, it was recognized that for future years it is necessary tc increase the number of studentstransferring from county to city schools. Parents were given the opportunity to visit the new schools with their children prior to official enrollment. Schools requested that parents come to orientation meetings with their children. If parents did not have transportation school districts were to inform them that the VICC wouldassist with 3 transportation arrangements. After children were officially enrolled, parents were encouraged tobecome involved in their new schooldistricts. The involvement ofstudents, parents, teachers andadminis- trators throughout themetropolitan area in this programis significant. Along with the growth innumbers of interdistrict transfers have come increasesin the number of studentspartici- pating in part-timeactivities, increased requestsfor staff exchanges, participation in a broadspectrum of staff develop- ment activities, acommunity feedback project implemented by Harvard University, andinvolvement in the review of newand existing magnet schools. The range of part-time programopportunities was broad both in numbers and scope. Programs included: Consumer Education, Honors Art, StudentLeadership, Career Education,Pairing and Sharing, School Partnership,Springboard to Learning, English as a Second Language,Chapter II and CitizenshipHigh School Leadership, the UniversityCity Student Leadership Program,and jointly sponsored activitiessuch as the Oakland Yesteryear Festival. The number of studentsinvolved in these programs this year was 39,751, ascompared with 29,357 last year. The VICC developedpolicies and procedUresdesigned to cover theimplementation process. VICC members'.A1:s9,mtrkedhard to encourage staffdevelopment activities, staffexchanges, and the efficient transportationof students. The MRC developedguidelines for evaluationprocedures, evaluated five city magnetschools, and approved proposals for eight new and expanded magnetprograms (seven in St.Louis and one in Kirkwood). At its May 2, 1984,meeting the VICC approved aresearch project to be conducted bythe Harvard Graduate Schoolof Education. Focus groups ofparticipants at all Levels (students who attended city and countyschools for the full school year, students who attendedfor part of the year,students who withdrew 'om the program, parents, staff, and resident stu- dents) will be interviewed to ascertain their reactions to the program. The reL,earch project will provide feedback to assist with the implementation of the Settlement Agreement in future years. The data collected by the VICC after a full year of operation shows that transfer students are becoming an integral part of their new schools. Fifty-nine percent of transfer students participated in one or more extra-curricular activi- ties---47 percent at the elementary level, 72 percent at the middle school level, and 58 percent at the 'high school level. In the area of special education, seven percent (152 students) of the students transferring city to county were referred for evaluation. Of that number 95 were evaluated and 65 received services for this year. Twenty of the 351 county to city transfer students (or six percent)received special education services in the St. Louis Public Schools. Ninety-three percent of the students enrolled had no major disciplinary problems and seven percent of the students trans- ferring received some kind of suspension. In the area of promotions and retentions, 90 percentof the transfer students were promoted and10 percent retained. Retentions were found primarily at the high school level where students were lacking sufficient credits to be promoted to the next grade. The withdrawal rate for all students was 10 percent. This rate was higher for students transferring from the county to the city than for those transferring from thecity to the county. The attendance rate was commeadable; 88 percent of the transfer students attended 154 days (out of 174 days) or 86 percent of the time. All of this data is provided in greater detail in Section IV of this report. The overall acceptance of the Settlement Agreement has been noticeable. Goals are being addressed and results documented. The body of this report will attest to the implementation ofthe Settlement Agreement. TABLE OF CONTE'TS PAGE Section I - INTRODUCTION 1 Section II - IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT 5 Organization of the VICC 5 VICC Subcommittees 5 Recruitment Activities 8 New School Choices 8 Magnet School Choices 9 Publicity 9 Radio and Television Announcements 10 Newsletter