10/06/98

Sheff Revisited

The 1996 state Supreme Court decision in the de facto segregation case, Sheff vs. O’Neill, called for legislative/executive remedies to reduce racial isolation and equalize educational opportunities for Hartford public school students. Dissatisfied with government initiatives to date, the plaintiffs are back in court, seeking enforceable remedies because, they contend, the isolation and inequity are growing worse.

Years of declining test scores, family chaos, urban decay and middle class flight tell the story. Throwing dollars at city schools has failed; busing students out to the suburbs has fared no better. Yet we must find answers.

Madeline Cartwright, author of For the Children: Lessons from a Visionary Principal, 1993, writes: “I have watched the educational system in this city (Philadelphia) and in cities across the country slowly and steadily crumble into crisis. Desperation and anger, abandonment and fear, hatred and hopelessness are feelings that have been swirling through our cities ... where the most neglected of our children live and attend the most neglected of schools. If these children -- these millions of boys and girls -- are left behind, be assured they will not stay put. They will take out their desperation on one another for a time, but eventually they will aim their rage outward and there will be no ignoring them then.”

Cartwright, a principal in a poor, crumbling section of North Philadelphia, turned to the school community for help. For example, when she met with custodial resistance to eliminating the smell of urine from student bathrooms, she took off her shoes and stockings, picked up bleach, mop and bucket, and started scrubbing. Parents, teachers, students (and the custodians) were so impressed, they joined her and eliminated the foul odor permanently.

“The success of any school,” Cartwright says, “depends on teamwork among its teachers, students, and parents, but the person who must bring that team together, give it direction, guide it and constantly keep it fueled with energy and incentive, is the principal.”

City school districts around the country are trying a variety of desegregation/integration/equity plans with varying degrees of success. Plans include such elements as magnet schools, charters, school choice, student exchange programs, new school construction, taxation/school finance reform, early childhood initiatives, K-12 curriculum revision, district consolidation and parent/teacher empowerment. Seven years ago, Kentucky legislated statewide public school reform from the top down, building in accountability for student academic improvement in every school in every city and town -- with impressive results.

What plan will work for Connecticut? Our citizens have been discussing this question, in good faith, for many years, but no comprehensive plan has taken hold. Perhaps it's time for a judge to decide. We need to act and act decisively to equalize educational opportunity for all of Connecticut's children.

What are your thoughts about the issues raised in the Sheff case? Can voluntary measures reverse the trends of racial isolation and unequal educational opportunities for Connecticut's children or do we need mandated solutions?

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.