D15 Diversity Plan
The D15 Diversity Plan Process has been established to create a community-based middle school diversity plan for School District 15.
Through the guidance and leadership of a Working Group - comprised of school community members from across D15 including, students, parents, teachers, principals, administrators, community advocates and members of local community-based organizations - the D15 Diversity Plan evolved through four large public events, more than 80 stakeholder meetings, a community-based survey and a website all in an effort to understand key concerns, gather feedback and develop recommendations.
Throughout this process, the DOE worked closely with the D15 community to develop a plan that would meet the needs of the district. The DOE served as a partner and collaborator but left the decision-making for the plan's recommendations to the Working Group.
The recommendations put forth by they Working Group are the result of a tremendous amount of work by local and city leaders. It is worth celebrating all of the leaders whose continued focus on equity and diversity has served as a model for this process and laid a solid foundation for continued work.
The Final Plan
To download the Final D15 Diversity Plan please click the link below.
Middle School Admissions
We are excited to share that after collaborating with parents and guardians, students, school leaders, educators, and community members, District 15 launched a district-wide plan to increase middle school diversity and equity. As part of this plan, all district middle schools in District 15 now use an open admissions method, and some applicants have priority for 52% of seats at each school. This means:
- Our schools no longer screen or use applicants’ academic records to evaluate or admit students. If a school has more applicants than available seats, the school will match with applicants by random selection.
- Our schools will give the following applicants an admissions priority for 52% of their seats: students from low-income households (who qualify for the federal free and reduced price lunch program), students in temporary housing, and English Language Learners.
These changes took place for fifth grade students who applied to middle school the fall of 2018. This will not affect 5th grade families' ability to select and rank schools or the way in which they can apply to middle schools.
Sibling Preference Policy
This admissions cycle (admissions for Fall 2020 enrollment) there will be a sibling priority for 5th grade students who have a 6th grade sibling at a D15 middle school; additionally, twins who complete identical applications will receive an offer to the same D15 middle school. Please note, this pilot is for this admissions cycle only, and will be re-evaluated before the next admissions cycle. There is no guarantee there will be a similar priority next year or in any future years. This pilot will not affect the existing District 15 middle school admissions policy: 52 percent of seats in the 6th grade class will continue to be prioritized for students from low-income families, English Language Learners, and students in temporary housing.
Families who are interested in learning more about this should reach out their elementary school.