It looks like the Wake County school system will be in the spotlight tonight at a YWCA community forum on racism in the schools.

According to this press release, organizers say they will "take an in-depth look at how racism impacts area public schools." The press release cites the suspension rates for minority and low-income students in Wake.

"Education is intertwined with other social and economic justice issues because they share the same systemic roots with racism and classicism," said YWCA of the Greater Triangle Executive Director Folami Bandele in the press release. "We can and must do better for the futures of our youth, and we will continue to forge conversations in our community challenging these divides."

An overhaul of Wake County student discipline policies that largely eliminates zero-tolerance punishments could be adopted as soon as this week.

As noted in today's article, the Wake school board will vote Tuesday on a series of changes to the discipline policy with the biggest change being how suspensions would now be issued. School leaders expect the changes will reduce how often and how long students are suspended from school.

The changes appear to enjoy broad board support. Even critics of Wake's current discipline policies acknowledge it's a major change.

Supporters of the old Wake County diversity policy are making no bones about the fact that they're going after the school system at Friday's Stand Against Racism event at noon in Moore Square in downtown Raleigh.

Before last year's event, sponsors from the YWCA of the Greater Triangle event downplayed ahead of time that they'd be discussing the Wake school system. But it turned into a heated attack of the school board majority.

This time, organizers say they're targeting "systemic racism embedded in policies of the Wake County Public School System," namely the student suspension and discipline polices. It's one of the arguments that was used in the NAACP complaint of Wake that's being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

UPDATE

After having sent out another release this morning promoting the event, organizers just sent out a message this afternoon saying it's been postponed until August.

Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata could face his roughest grilling yet when he meets Thursday night with the teenagers from NC HEAT.

Tata had agreed to meet with NC HEAT when several members protested outside his appearance at the Wake County Taxpayers Association meeting in January. NC HEAT has been hardcore in its protests against the end of the diversity policy, with some of its members being arrested at board meetings.

"It was disappointing to us that Mr. Tata decided his first visit with the community would be with the Wake County Taxpayers Association, we felt this sent a very unfortunate and partisan message," said Monserrat Alvarez, co-chair of NC HEAT, in a press release posted today by Bob Geary on his blog for the Independent. "We asked Tata to meet with us as well, and he agreed so we are looking forward to hearing his responses to our concerns, not just the concerns of the wealthy members of our community."

UPDATE

Fliers promoting Saturday's NC HEAT protest are being handed out by audience members at Tuesday's school board meeting.

Supporters of Wake County's old school diversity policy took over Wednesday night's reassignment public hearing at Southeast Raleigh.

As noted in today's article by Ray Martin, most of the speakers focused on criticizing the board for eliminating the diversity policy instead of on the specifics of the 2011-12 student reassignment plan.

Speakers included some familiar names from school board meetings and a group of people organized by the YWCA of the Greater Triangle, one of the major backers of the Wake Education Advocates and the Great Schools in Wake Coalition.

Mary D. Williams, one of the four people arrested for taking over the June 15 Wake County school board meeting, has received an award from the YWCA of the Greater Triangle.

In this case, the award is for Williams' artistic skills and not her political activism. Williams was inducted Wednesday into the 2010 Class of the Academy of Women honorary society for the arts and entertainment category.

The YWCA has been an active supporter and organizer for groups that support the old diversity policy.

Supporters of Wake County's old diversity policy are paying people to attend a parent advocacy retreat next week that will include a workshop on civil disobedience.

Stipends are being offered by Wake Education Advocates to encourage attendance at the free retreat. The retreat is open to everyone but priority is being given to get parents of low-income minority children to attend.

"Low-income children and children of color in Wake County face tremendous challenges, including increasingly segregated schools, achievement gaps, and high suspension rates," according to the website for the retreat. "Their parents can and should be their greatest advocates."

Supporters of the old diversity policy are heeding Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker's call for input on the decisions being made by the Wake County school board.

The YWCA of the Greater Triangle is hastily spreading the word about a forum at 7 p.m. tonight at Revelation Baptist Church, 805 E. Davie St. in Southeast Raleigh. The e-mail message says they're responding to Meeker's call for "feedback from community leaders, business people and legal advocates about recent decisions and plans made by the Wake County Board of Education."

Participants will meet in small group and large group discussions developing what will be discussed in a meeting later with Meeker.

If you disagree with the elimination of Wake County's socioeconomic diversity policy, here's your chance to get paid to be on the front lines of the fight.

Several groups, including the Great Schools in Wake Coalition and the YWCA of the Greater Triangle, have joined together to form Wake Education Advocates. WEA is looking to hire a coordinator for its new Great Schools Initiative.

"The goal of GSI is to empower those most impacted by school assignment changes — low-income students and students of color and their families — to advocate for diversity and equity in education," according to the job description for the position of GSI coordinator.

Will today's "Stand Against Racism" rally in downtown Raleigh turn into criticism of the Wake County school board majority's ending of the use of socioeconomic diversity in favor of community schools?

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, several groups critical of the new school board majority are among the sponsors of the event that will take place at noon at Moore Square. It's a nationwide event so the Raleigh one wasn't formed just because of the changes going on here.

But with all the critics who've hurled terms such as resegregtionists and racists at the new board, would anyone be surprised if the Wake school fight comes up?

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST