March 20, 2002

Ms. Kathy Walter-Mack, General Counsel

School District of Kansas City, Missouri

1211 McGee Street

Kansas City, MO 64106

Re: Jenkins v. KCMSD, African-Centered Education Plan

Dear Kathy:

I read in this morning’s paper that the School Board has asked that plaintiffs’ be consulted on the issue of a proposed expansion of the African-Centered Education program. The School Board, I suspect, would like this consultation to proceed quickly. So that we might be well informed on the issue, I request the following information. The sooner we receive the requested information, the sooner we will be prepared to meet with KCMSD officials and confer about this issue. Therefore, please provide me with the following:

· A copy of the proposal before the School Board and all supporting documentation provided to the Board

· Any analysis of test score data of KCMSD students enrolled in the ACE program

· Any data or documentation from similar programs in other school districts

· All data that the KCMSD relies on to suggest that the ACE proposal would either raise student academic achievement or close the gap in black/white achievement, especially as measured by MAP tests.

In addition, please provide the following analyses of data:

· MAP Test data since 1997 for all middle school students who had previously been enrolled at Chick Elementary school for at least their fourth and fifth grades, comparing those middle school MAP data to the KCMSD mean and median scores for a) all KCMSD middle schools students; b) all Africa-American KCMSD middle school students; and c) all white KCMSD middle school students. In other words, we request an analysis of how well students prepared at Chick since 1997 have done on MAP scores compared to students prepared at other KCMSD elementary schools.

· The same analysis as immediately above for students who attended Ladd Elementary School.

· For each year since 1997: rank all KCMSD elementary schools for each MAP test subject, indicating which schools for that year had ACE programs and stating what the KCMSD mean or median MAP score was for each subject and year.

· Same analysis as above for each KCMSD middle school.

· Same analysis as above for each KCMSD high school.

· For each year that the KCMSD has administered the SAT-9 test since 1999, rank all KCMSD elementary and middle schools by their SAT-9 scores, indicating those scores, stating which schools had an ACE program that year, and noting the KCMSD mean or median scores.

Finally, for each school in the pending ACE proposal, please answer the following questions:

· How will the faculty and school-based administration be chosen? What training will be provided to the faculty and by whom? What special curriculum will be used to implement the ACE program? If that curriculum does not now exist for middle school students, who will create it?

· Will these schools be subject to the existing court-approved educational plans? In other words, will they be required to use the District’s core curriculum, be subject to the District’s Accountability Plan, and be required to implement the Professional Development Plan? If not, in any respect, describe in detail what departures from existing court-approved plans will be sought and whether the District intends to seek an order of the Court exempting the proposed ACE schools from the requirements of the plans.

· Will these schools be subject to whatever Teacher Handbook provisions are then in effect or will exemptions from or special provisions to the Handbook be sought and, if so, what are they and has the AFT agreed to such special provisions?

I suspect that all or most of what is requested above has been thoroughly reviewed by the KCMSD Administration in the process of considering and drafting the ACE proposal before that proposal was brought to the School Board. Thus, making it available to us should not prolong the consultation process the Board has requested.

Yours very truly,

Arthur Benson

/AB

ec: Dr. Charles McClain

Mr. Maurice Watson

Ms. Patricia Brannan

Mr. Brian Wood

Parents