Great Lakes Equity Center |

Equitable, Responsive Education for All

The Great Lakes Equity Center was established by Dr. Kathleen King Thorius and colleagues in 2011 at the Indiana University School of Education, as an Equity Assistance Center (formerly Desegregation Assistance) funded by the United States Department of Education. As of 2016, the Great Lakes Equity Center re-structured as an organizational hub for an array of research, technical assistance, and educational resource development projects, including the Midwest and Plains (MAP) Equity Assistance Center. Collectively, we are committed to school and system transformation toward racial, disability, and other forms of educational justice: the MAP Center provides three-tiers of technical assistance related to race, sex, national origin, and religion desegregation to K-12 public education agencies in a 13-state region free-of-charge; the Great Lakes Equity Center continues to partner with community, non-profit, and private organizations across the U.S. on equity-driven systemic transformation, professional learning, and collaborative inquiry projects.

Midwest and Plains (MAP) Equity Assistance Center

In this Equity by Design brief, the authors summarize a study published by Waitoller and Maggin (2018) in the special education journal... read more

In this edition of Equity Digest, we explore what state education agencies can do to ensure the pursuit of educational equity at the local level, the... read more

In this Equity by Design brief, the author introduces 6 paradoxical habits of equity leadership, describing and providing examples of 6 practices... read more

This Equity Tool is a rubric, enabling users to determine the extent to which developed standards reflect an equity-focused approach to... read more

This edition of Equity Dispatch poses the question: what is the responsibility of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local education agencies... read more

This edition of Equity Dispatch speaks to educational leaders within systems who, through policy and practice, pigeonhole K-12 educators into... read more

In this issue of Equity Digest, we examine the people who operate educational systems at the state education agency (SEA) and local education... read more

The purpose of this Equity by Design brief is to provide information to parents, community members, and school district leaders and teachers about... read more

The purpose of this Equity by Design brief is to review research regarding LGBTQ+ youth, schools, and rural contexts in North America, primarily the... read more

This installment of Equity by Design brief will review civil rights law, federal disability laws, and related best practices to help schools... read more

Magnet Schools in the 21st Century: Viable Integration Strategies or Sites of Segregation?

Magnet schools were initially created in the 1970s as a school desegregation strategy to attract white students to schools located outside of their neighborhoods (in urban areas) to achieve integration. These schools offered specialized curriculum and programs not available in their neighborhood schools and were very successful in bringing together students of different backgrounds. Magnet schools still exist over 40 years after their initial inception; yet, in some cases, they are no longer "magnetizing," which begs the question as to whether they are still viable integration strategies.

In this virtual roundtable, individuals from districts across the Midwest and Plains regions that utilize magnet school admissions in their student assignment policies will discuss the pros and cons of magnet schools in the current school choice context and offer insights about their efforts to provide integrated schooling environments.

Please register here.