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An update on Open Choice < Back February 2023 Meeting Who: Speakers: Callie Bostic-Gardner What: An update on Open Choice Where: Virtual: Via Zoom When: February 18, 2023 at 3:00:00 PM Meeting Agenda Welcome Introduction of Speaker Capital Region Education Council (CREC) Callie Bostic-Gardner, School Choice Operations Manager Sheff Movement Updates, Advocacy Work Download Meeting Materials Sheff Coalition Meeting 2.18.23 .pdf Download PDF • 130KB Previous Next

Integration Matters: A Conversation on Connecticut’s Cities, Towns, and Schools < Back November 2018 Meeting Who: Speakers: Erin Boggs, Elizabeth Horton Sheff, Dennis Parker, Robert Cotto, Jr., Frantzy Luzincourt, Sarah Zapiler ("Zaps") What: Integration Matters: A Conversation on Connecticut’s Cities, Towns, and Schools Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: November 17, 2018 at 3:00:00 PM About Our Panel Erin Boggs , Executive Director, Open Communities Alliance Erin Boggs has worked on issues of equity, particularly in the context of housing, for almost 20 years. After dedicating six years to a range of fair housing issues, such as the foreclosure crisis, the housing challenges faced by people with disabilities, and housing discrimination based on a range of characteristics such as the presence of children, the use of government housing subsidies, and race and ethnicity, Ms. Boggs recognized the need for an organization specifically focused on the intersection of inequality and geography. Elizabeth Horton Sheff , Co-Chair, Sheff Movement Coalition Elizabeth Horton Sheff is a justice seeker. Throughout her many years of community activism, she has advocated on many civil rights fronts, including championing the rights of persons who reside in public housing; those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS; families marginalized by economic challenges and grandparents raising grandchildren. Horton Sheff is also known for her role as named plaintiff of Sheff vs. O’Neill, the successful landmark civil rights lawsuit, with mandate to provide equal access to quality, integrated public education in Connecticut. Dennis Parker, Director, ACLU Racial Justice Program Dennis Parker is director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, leading its efforts in combating discrimination and addressing other issues with a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Prior to joining the ACLU, Parker was the chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the Office of New York State Attorney General under Eliot Spitzer. He previously spent 14 years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Parker has also worked with the New York Legal Aid Society. He teaches Race, Poverty and Constitutional Law at New York Law School. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Middlebury College. Robert Cotto, Jr., Director of Urban Educational Initiatives, Trinity College Before his work at Trinity, Robert Cotto, Jr. was a Senior Policy Fellow in K-12 Education for CT Voices for Children where he published reports on Connecticut’s testing system, public school choice, and K-12 education data and policy. He taught for seven years as a social studies teacher at the Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and International Studies (MLC), an interdistrict magnet school intended to provide a high-quality education and promote racial, ethnic, and economic integration. Born and raised in Connecticut, Mr. Cotto was the first in his family to go to college and he earned his B.A. degree in sociology at Dartmouth College and his Ed.M. at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Frantzy Luzincourt, IntegrateNYC Frantzy Luzincourt is a Junior studying Political Science and Legal Studies as a Macaulay Honors student at The City College of New York. He currently serves as a the Vice President of Student Affairs of the Undergraduate Student Government, is a CUNY Futures Initiatives Undergraduate Leadership Fellow, and a Stanford University University Innovation Fellow. Ever since high school he has dedicated his life to uplifting youth voices, fighting against injustice and advocating for an equitable public school system in New York City. He carries these values with him as the Chief of Staff of an education non-profit called IntegrateNYC and serves on the Department of Education’s New York City School Diversity Advisory Group. Moderator Zaps, IntegrateNYC Zaps is the Executive Director and Coach at IntegrateNYC. She has founded, designed, and delivered multiple youth elevation and development programs. In 2011, she founded Taxi to Tomorrow, a mutual mentorship program that paired recently immigrated high school students with college students studying their languages and cultures. Starting in 2014, she served as a Dream Director with The Future Project where she trained in facilitating project-based learning and student coaching. She has been working with INYC since 2015 and is thrilled to bring her experience in youth development to an organization committed to systemically transforming how schools serve students and our democracy. Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back September 2018 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: September 22, 2018 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back October 2018 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: October 20, 2018 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

Measuring Progress WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE 1996 RULING? The implementation of the two-way integration system went slowly in the initial years, forcing the Sheff plaintiffs to return to court repeatedly to urge faster and more ambitious action by the state. The main tools of integration have been inter-district magnet schools and the Open Choice Program, which sends Hartford children to suburban schools. By 2003, through what came to be known as the “Phase 1” settlement agreement, the system began to grow at a steadier pace–though much slower than needed to address the high demand for integrated programs. 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 Phase 2 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 goal was for 41% of Hartford children to attend an integrated school by 2012-2013. Fall 2012 enrollment data showed that the state had failed to reach this goal, so a one year extension was agreed to in May 2013. In December 2013, the parties announced a one-year Phase 3 settlement, which aimed to increase the number of magnet school seats and expand Open Choice, while allocating funds to strengthen a Hartford neighborhood “lighthouse” school. The parties are currently negotiating a Phase 4 agreement for the 2015-16 school year and beyond. Below is the Sheff Movement coalition’s analysis of the state’s reported Sheff enrollment numbers for 2013-14. Using these official figures, the state has reached the Phase 2 settlement goal of 41% of Hartford minority students in reduced isolation settings. SCALE OF HARTFORD’S TWO-WAY INTEGRATION PROGRAMS Greater Hartford’s two-way, voluntary integration programs now serve just under 20,000 students, including almost 9,000 Hartford resident students. This means that over 40% of Hartford “minority” students now attend racially and economically integrated schools – with the number anticipated to increase to 44% in 2014-15. Below is the Sheff Movement coalition’s analysis of the state’s reported Sheff enrollment numbers for 2013-14. Using these official figures, the state has reached the Phase 2 settlement goal of 41% of Hartford minority students in reduced isolation settings. Innovative and award winning programs: In 2015, Breakthrough Magnet School (now known as Breakthrough Magnet School South) won the “Best Magnet School in America” award from Magnet Schools of America out of its 3800 member schools. In 2016 Breakthrough was named, "A National School to Learn From" by Teach for America, and in 2017 was certified by Character.org as a National School of Character. Hartford’s regional magnet school system has been a hub of educational innovation, with three public school Montessori programs, five state of the art STEM programs beginning at the elementary school level, dynamic K-12 arts and performing arts focused schools, including a flagship regional performing arts magnet high school with students from 30+ school districts. Hartford area magnets have consistently won national honors, including: Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2012 Sport and Medical Sciences Academy and University High School of Science & Engineering were ranked among “America’s Best High Schools” by US News & World Report in 2012 In 2011, Hartford Magnet Middle School (now known as Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy) won the “Best Magnet School in America” award from Magnet Schools of America In 2012, University High School of Science and Engineering received the “Secondary School of Merit” award from Magnet Schools of America Academic Outcomes: Data released in 2013 (from Spring 2012) confirms that Hartford students attending racially and economically integrated regional magnet schools and/or attending suburban schools through the Open Choice program are outperforming Hartford students attending traditional public schools. Magnet and Open Choice students also performed extremely well in relation to Connecticut’s state averages for all students, on both the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) (grades 3-8) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) (grade 10). (See our charts, comparing CMT and CAPT achievement data for grades 3-10 and CMT scores for magnets and Open Choice, Grades 4-6-8.) In addition, graduation rates for Hartford students attending the regional magnet high schools exceed rates for many suburban high schools. Of course, there’s a lot more to education than test scores and graduation rates. Research tells us that students attending racially and economically integrated also benefit in other important ways. They tend to possess better critical thinking skills and analytical ability and are more likely to form cross-racial friendships. Over the long-term, students who attend diverse schools are more likely choose diverse colleges, neighborhoods, and workplaces later in life. And, importantly, research also demonstrates that diverse schools are better equipped than high-poverty schools to counteract the negative effects of poverty. Benefits to Hartford and the Region: The economic development impacts of the Sheff remedies have been huge. New or substantially rehabilitated magnet schools have brought hundreds of millions of dollars of construction funds into the city, have made positive contributions to public housing redevelopment areas, and have provided key anchors for struggling city neighborhoods (in some cases helping to substantially transform neighborhoods). Almost half of the Sheff regional magnet schools are administered by the Hartford Public Schools (HPS), and have led the comeback of the Hartford school system. Not only is HPS now recognized for running some of the best schools in the entire region, but the growth of the magnet school system was the key trigger for Hartford’s adoption of an all-choice school assignment system (a key aspect of former HPS superintendent Dr. Steven Adamowski’s school reform agenda). The new Sheff settlement is now linking magnet school best practices directly to the development of a neighborhood “lighthouse” school. The innovative, 2-way school integration remedy has also portrayed the Hartford region in a positive light nationally, with widespread attention in the media and in schools of education across the country. Hartford has become a go-to destination for school administrators and government education officials from other states who want advice on how to design successful integration programs.

SMC Updates < Back March 2015 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: March 21, 2016 at 2:00:00 PM Agenda will include reflections on Advocacy Day, a presentation by Kenneth Feder of Connecticut Voices for Children, and a review of the coalition’s ongoing Open Choice campaign. Previous Next

Join Us for Dialogue w/Mayoral Candidates at June’s Monthly Coalition Meeting < Back June 2015 Meeting Who: Come meet Hartford’s mayoral candidates. What: Join Us for Dialogue w/Mayoral Candidates at June’s Monthly Coalition Meeting Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: June 20, 2015 at 2:00:00 PM Come meet Hartford’s mayoral candidates; ask them to support continued expansion of quality, integrated education. The Sheff Movement is pleased to welcome most of Hartford’s mayoral candidates to our monthly coalition meeting on June 20th. We will use this opportunity to provide an update on progress toward achieving access to a quality, integrated education for all students in the Hartford region. We will engage in a structured dialogue with the candidates to learn how their leadership would support our coalition’s goals. To emphasize the positive impact that Sheff programs are having on the Hartford community, we will highlight some of this year’s award-winning magnet school programs, including Breakthrough Magnet School, R.J. Kinsella Magnet School of the Performing Arts, the Connecticut IB Academy, and Academy of Aerospace and Engineering. Mayor Pedro Segarra will be in CA attending the Annual US Conference of Mayors on June 20th, but we have confirmations from candidates Luke Bronin, Joel Cruz, John Gale, Robert Killian, Theodore Cannon, and Giselle Jacobs. We hope that you will join us for this important gathering to make sure the candidates understand the importance of continued support for the region’s magnet schools, Open Choice and other Sheff programs. Read the report of what happened at this event. Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back September 2015 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: September 19, 2015 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

Leadership Planning Meeting < Back April 2023 Meeting Who: What: Leadership Planning Meeting Where: Virtual: Via Zoom When: April 22, 2023 at 2:00:00 PM Meeting Agenda Welcome Opening Sheff Movement Updates School Based Advocacy Teams Community Based Advocacy Teams May Monthly Meeting Upcoming Projects Closing RSVP HERE Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back April 2017 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: April 22, 2017 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

< Back August 2022 (No Meeting Held) Who: What: Where: When: Previous Next

Recap of our recent trip to Washington, DC and discuss the current state budget status, including possible upcoming suburban transportation issues. < Back November 2009 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: Recap of our recent trip to Washington, DC and discuss the current state budget status, including possible upcoming suburban transportation issues. Where: Hartford City Hall, Council Chambers When: November 21, 2009 at 2:30:00 PM Recap of our recent trip to Washington, DC and discuss the current state budget status, including possible upcoming suburban transportation issues. Related Resources: Reaffirming the Role of School Integration in K-12 Public Education Policy: A Conversation Among Policymakers, Advocates and Educators Friday, November 13, 2009, 10:00 AM Howard University School of Law Washington, D.C. Event Program Previous Next