Promotion of High Standards for All Public Schools

Adopted as amended 

WHEREAS, the NAACP has always fought for strong public schools; and 

WHEREAS, the NAACP reaffirms all its prior resolutions supporting a quality, free public education for all children; and 

WHEREAS, the current environment is generating quasi-public school formats wherein public money is sometimes spent outside of the traditional processes of accountability; and 

WHEREAS, the NAACP sets forth a set of high standards for all public schools that includes: 

• Improving districts in which they're housed, specifically, entering into a joint plan with the district to share best practices and mentor other (especially low-performing) schools and teachers in practices that show results. 

• Being subject to claw-backs: Non-governmental school operators should enter into an agreement with the district to restore public funds and other incentives (such as free space or per pupil allocations for portions of the school year) if the school should fail to serve students individually or fulfill their mission. 

• Collaborating with teachers: Schools & districts should collaborate with teachers' unions to produce progress, drawing on unions' historical and current experience in running successful schools and classrooms. 

• Possessing high admissions criteria and close oversight: All schools should be governed by an authority or oversight body with technical assistance capacity adequate to help them meet the needs of all students and that shall enforce non-discrimination and prevent segregation in terms of race or ability. 

• Possessing elements common to all successful public schools: such as  

  • Aligned balanced and historically accurate curricula, that is supported by recognized subject matter experts concerning the particular areas specifically, providing access and support for all students to engage with a challenging curriculum; 

  • A high degree of parent involvement; 

  • Great teacher support, specifically, a thoughtfully designed system to attract and continuously develop excellent teaching skill among both new and veteran staff; 

  • Strong leadership, specifically, an explicit system of distributed, collaborative leadership among staff, parents and community, and 

  • Extended learning time, which the Association has endorsed in prior resolutions. 

• Demonstrating fulfillment of a need: All schools should demonstrate their alignment with and readiness to meet student needs in the area which they serve. 

• Using multiple, growth measures: Schools should measure and report their progress using a balanced scorecard of metrics that extend beyond test scores and take into account student growth. 

• Ensuring an open admissions policy where all students in a given area have an equal chance for entry without requiring an application process. 

• Including access to resources matching needs of any student they will serve. 

• Ensuring a thoughtfully developed system for ensuring college-and career- ready graduation. 

• Employing a plan for an equitable system of discipline. 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that all new schools should meet the criteria above in addition to demonstrating a record of success with similar students or the likelihood of high-fidelity implementation of a research proven plan likely to generate success with similar students; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP stands against re-segregation of public schools and for high quality constitutional socioeconomically diverse schools; and 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP work to make these standards the norm for new and reconstituted schools nationwide.