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• Sheff Movement Updates
• At Pathways to Technology Magnet School Students To Develop Android Apps Hartford Courant, February 3, 2012
• Sheff Movement on WNPR (January 2012)
• Sheff Movement testimony to the Governor's Achievement Gap Task Force (January 2012)
• "Dr. King, On Education," CT News Junkie, Jan 16, 2012
• Why Is Congress Redlining Our Schools? by Linda Darling-Hammond, The Nation, January 10, 2012
• New School Diversity Guidance Issued by U.S. Department of Education - Supports Sheff Goals! (Dec 2, 2011)
• Powerpoint from our December 3rd Year-End Meeting
• "Magnet Schools Reducing Racial Isolation" by Bruce Douglas, December 1, 2011
• Increased reimbursements pay off in getting state closer to desegregating Hartford schools CT Mirror, November 24, 2011
• Steady but slow progress on state integration goals Sheff Movement coalition, November 23, 2011
• Reports on the 2011-12 Sheff Enrollment Data (November 16, 2011)
• Victory in Avon! On November 22nd, the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission, by a vote of 5 to 2, granted CREC permission to build a permanent home in Avon for the Reggio Magnet School of the Arts. The school will serve 435 students in grades Pre-K to 5th grade; half of the children will come from Hartford and the other half from suburban school districts. Reggio is the first Sheff magnet school to be built in the Farmington Valley. Read the Sheff Movement's comments here.
• In Hartford Schools' Marketing Campaign, A Softer, 'Positive' Approach Hartford Courant, November 22, 2011
• School Choice Lottery Poorly Managed, Critics Say Hartford Courant, November 16, 2011
• Charter schools could help state reach integration goals CT Mirror, Oct. 28, 2011
• Congratulations to four of Hartford's host magnets!! For the second year in a row, four Hartford regional public high schools - Capital Preparatory Magnet, Pathways to Technology, the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy and the University High School of Science and Engineering -- have made U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best High Schools. Read the press release.
• The Sheff Movement is a member of the National Coalition on School Diversity

What is the Sheff Movement?

We are parents, citizens, educators and others who care about civil rights and education. We work to educate the public about proven voluntary integration measures and increase support for quality education for all children.

In 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the segregated conditions in the Hartford public school system violate the Connecticut Constitution and charged the state of Connecticut with devising a remedy.

Today, over 29% of Hartford Black and Latino children are attending integrated schools including 28 interdistrict magnet schools and over 30 participating suburban districts. In spite of this progress, more needs to be done to guarantee the right of every Hartford student to a quality integrated education.

What has happened since the 1996 ruling?

The main tools of integration have been inter-district magnet schools (run by both the Hartford Public Schools and CREC) and the Open Choice Program, which sends Hartford children to suburban schools. More than 1,100 Hartford students now take part in Open Choice, and 29 new regional magnet schools have been created, most within Hartford.

The plaintiffs returned to court in 2007, seeking stronger state involvement. After the conclusion of the hearing, the parties negotiated for several months, and in April 2008 agreed on a new five-year settlement to expand voluntary integration measures in the region. The agreement was approved by the court in June 2008 and followed by a "Comprehensive Management Plan" adopted in December 2008. The new plan's both realistic and ambitious, but needs additional funding to succeed. The plans's goal is to permit 42% if Hartford children to attend an integrated school by 2013. After that, we will move toward the next phase of implementation.

What can I do?

• Sign up on this website. We'll keep you informed of events, new research, and how you can help.
• Contact your state legislator, saying you support Sheff school-integration programs and asking what you can do to help. (click here.)
• Help put our DVD on your town's cable access station. We have made several videos that highlight the benefits of integration and how suburban parents have made their towns' Project Choice programs successful.
• Talk to your Board of Education. Suburban towns and schools have room to welcome more Hartford children in the Open Choice Program. Legislators also need to hear from their constituents who support magnet schools and other measures. Successful voluntary integration programs offer concrete steps to make all of these programs succeed.
• Come to our meetings and forward our emails to friends, colleagues, and family.
• Speak out. Talk to your neighbors and friends about the issue. Respond to news and write a letter to the editor of your town paper or call your elected officials.

What is at stake?

Connecticut is still falling short of providing a quality, integrated education for the children in our urban schools. Aside from the moral reasons to correct this imbalance, there are severe economic repercussions. Children are not getting the chance to learn and ultimately will lack basic skills to contribute to our society or compete in the job market. Yet our state's economic future will depend on their contributions. The current system serves no one in the long run. Research shows that all students are better off in racially and economically integrated schools, with better critical thinking skills and ability to navigate the workforce and the world.

Hartford is showing the rest of the nation that a two-way regional voluntary integration plan can succeed. Let's all work together to keep the momentum going.