SMC Updates < Back September 2017 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: September 16, 2017 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back February 2012 Meeting Who: Guest: Commissioner Pryor What: SMC Updates Where: Capital Prep Magnet School - 1304 Main Street Hartford, CT 06103 When: February 18, 2012 at 3:00:00 PM Commissioner Pryor will be joining us. Previous Next

School & Community-Based Advocacy Team Presentation < Back May 2023 Meeting Who: What: School & Community-Based Advocacy Team Presentation Where: Virtual: Via Zoom When: May 20, 2023 at 2:00:00 PM Meeting Agenda 2. Opening 3. Student Updates School-Based Advocacy Teams Community-Based Advocacy Teams 4. Sheff Movement Updates Youth Activism Committee Summer Student Engagement 5. Closing RSVP HERE  Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back October 2015 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: October 10, 2015 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

We'll be discussing Greater Hartford's magnet school system. < Back March 2022 Meeting Who: Speakers: Julie Goldstein, Salvatore Menzo, Sarah Vocca What: We'll be discussing Greater Hartford's magnet school system. Where: Virtual: Via Zoom When: March 19, 2022 at 2:00:00 PM Meeting Agenda 1. Welcome 2. Sheff Agreement Update 3. Introduction of Speakers 4. GH Magnet School System Julie Goldstein Salvatore Menzo, Ed.D Sarah Vocca, Ph.D Download Meeting Materials Goodwin .pdf Download PDF • 1.34MB HPS MSA Sheff Mtg Presentation .pdf Download PDF • 14.53MB Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back June 2017 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: June 10, 2017 at 2:00:00 PM Previous Next

MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES OUR MISSION: WHY THE SHEFF MOVEMENT COALITION EXISTS The Sheff Movement is a coalition of parents, students, educators and community members working to assure full access to quality integrated education for every child in the Hartford region. OUR VISION: WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE FOR THE PEOPLE WE SERVE We envision a society where all children have access to high performing, well-resourced, integrated schools in inclusive, prosperous communities. In these schools, capable, caring teachers and administrators reflect the diverse composition of the student body. Children learn together, explore together and play together, forging friendships and celebrating differences. Identities are embraced, valued and uplifted. Shared best practices drive positive learning outcomes and students’ social and emotional growth. And in each school setting, students feel valued and families are respected partners in their children’s education. A legacy of this effort is a just, thriving community that transcends geographic borders as well as divisions of race, ethnicity and socio-economic status. For its work in creating such a community, Greater Hartford is known as a national model for quality integrated education and its impact. OUR VALUES: WHAT CORE BELIEFS WILL GUIDE THE SHEFF MOVEMENT COALITION Quality Education : Academic excellence, skilled, committed professionals, culturally relevant instruction, a safe and healthy environment, ample resources, and a diverse student body and educators who look like them are all hallmarks of a quality educational institution. We believe that such factors should be the standard for all schools. Integrated Education : By learning together, children learn to respect and value people whose racial, cultural, and socio-economic characteristics differ from their own. By learning together, they prepare themselves to understand and thrive in an increasingly diverse and integrated world. Extensive research shows that cross-racial and cross-class learning environments have beneficial effects on all aspects of a child’s educational experience, in contrast to the detrimental effects of segregation for children of all backgrounds. We believe that integration is vital to quality education, and to the dismantling of structural racism. Equal Access : We believe that all children deserve access to quality integrated education, opening up a range of opportunities – social, economic, educational – regardless of the town they live in. Constitutional Justice : The Connecticut State Supreme Court has affirmed that the principle of equal access to education is embedded in the constitution of the state. It has ruled that the racial and socioeconomic isolation of Hartford school children violates their constitutional rights. The State of Connecticut is required to provide every student access to quality integrated education. We believe that it is the State’s legal and moral obligation to fulfill that mandate. Honest Communication : Clear, honest information is necessary for people to make good decisions. We are dedicated to increasing people’s awareness about the value of quality integrated education as well as information about programs that promote it. We support an open dialogue and transparent process regarding access to quality integrated schools. Inclusive Environments : Inclusive educational environments feature culturally competent educators and culturally responsive teaching methods and curriculum. All students are consistently held to high standards, and students’ cultural differences are viewed as assets that will help them achieve at high levels. Students feel a sense of belonging and see their cultural backgrounds and identities reflected throughout the classroom, in the instructional materials, and among the educators and school leaders. We believe every school must offer a nurturing, inclusive environment. Community : We view Greater Hartford as a single interdependent community that can thrive only so long as there is constant communication and cooperation across town, school zone and neighborhood boundaries. We are dedicated to building a just and prosperous community by forming coalitions of families, educators, policy makers and concerned citizens drawn from all parts of Greater Hartford. Anti-Racism : We are committed to examining how racism affects the lived experience of people of color; how racism is systemic and has been part of many foundational aspects of society throughout history; how it is manifested in both individual attitudes and behaviors as well as formal (and ‘unspoken') policies and practices within institutions; and how white people participate, often unknowingly, in racism. As leaders of the Sheff Movement coalition, we pledge vigilant, ongoing self-reflection and promise to incorporate this value in all aspects of our work. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

You are invited to celebrate with us at The Heroines of Hartford unveiling ceremony and view portraits of the honorees painted by renowned D.C.- based artist Levi Robinson. The paintings will remain on display for the community to appreciate < Back Heroines of Hartford Unveiling Ceremony Past Event Who: w/ Master of Ceremony Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad When: May 12, 2022 at 5:00:00 PM Where: EHI Equestrian & Therapeutic Center. 337 Vine Street, Hartford, CT You are invited to celebrate with us at The Heroines of Hartford unveiling ceremony and view portraits of the honorees painted by renowned D.C.- based artist Levi Robinson. The paintings will remain on display for the community to appreciate Elizabeth Horton Sheff to be Honored at Heroines of Hartford Unveiling Ceremony RSVP - info@ebonyhorsewomen.us Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. will pay tribute to eight women who have served the Hartford community through acts of kindness, advocacy, and leadership on Thursday, May 12, 2022. You are invited to celebrate with us at The Heroines of Hartford unveiling ceremony and view portraits of the honorees painted by renowned D.C.- based artist Levi Robinson. The paintings will remain on display for the community to appreciate. The event, made possible with grants from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the City of Hartford, will start at 1:00 PM at EHI Equestrian and Therapeutic Center at 337 Vine Street in Hartford. The special occasion will be hosted by Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad and includes remarks by EHI CEO and President Patricia E. Kelly. Our heroines include women who have had an immeasurable impact on our community, both past and present - attorney Cynthia Jennings, community activist Elizabeth Horton-Sheff, former councilwoman rJo Winch, activist and former city official Patricia M. Williams, social worker and advocate Elba Cruz Schulman, politician and change maker Ella Cromwell, Artists Collective co-founder Cheryl Smith, and environmental leader and "Hartford's Tree Lady", Charmaine Craig. Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. would like to remind Hartford just how appreciated our community and its leaders are. Please join us for this special occasion! Info cited from ebonyhorsewomen.org - https://ebonyhorsewomen.org/heroines-of-hartford Previous Next

SMC Updates < Back February 2016 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: February 27, 2016 at 3:00:00 PM Previous Next

2023 State Legislative Session Update < Back March 2023 Meeting Who: Wes Horton What: 2023 State Legislative Session Update Where: Virtual: Via Zoom When: March 18, 2023 at 2:00:00 PM Meeting Agenda 1. Welcome 2. Introduction of Speaker 3. Sheff Decision Refresher Wes Horton 4. Sheff Movement Updates Open Choice Legislation SBAT/CBAT 5. Legislative Updates H.B. 5204 , An Act Concerning a Needs Assessment and Fair Share Plans for Municipalities to Increase Affordable Housing- Kari Nicewander , Director of Strategic Partnership at Open Communities Alliance H.B. 5003 , An Act Concerning Education Funding in Connecticut 6. Closing RSVP MEETING Previous Next

Under Construction to contact us: sheffmovementcoalition@gmail.com Our Signature Aesthetic Sheff Honored as Unsung Hero in 7th Grade Art Project For her 7th grade art project at The Unquowa School in Fairfield, Connecticut, Oola Breen-Ryan honored Alumni Specialist, Elizabeth Horton Sheff, as an unsung hero. We are so grateful for Elizabeth's committment to education and for her hard work at GUMSS. Oola is quoted saying, "For my project, I made a stack of cardboard books to show how Elizabeth Horton Sheff paved the way for education in Connecticut. I glued printed versions of the original complaint for the case, as well as the eventual agreement, onto my books. I also included a map of Hartford and a cut-up map of Connecticut. The different counties are separated and scattered around the sculpture to represent the differences in funding for education in parts of Connecticut, but also to show that, ultimately, the differences that are made in one part of a state could affect the rest of Connecticut. Finally, I put some inspiring quotes by Elizabeth Horton Sheff onto the covers and spines of the books." May Virtual Meeting Please join us on the 18th to hear updates on our 2024 visit to the Legislature! During our upcoming meeting we will continue discussion on our legislative agenda, including updates on our trip to the Legislature this session. Saturday, May18, 2024 10 AM - 11:30 AM RSVP here for Zoom link: https://forms.gle/JCZUPoQMPR3fyXRE9 UConn Law Honors John Brittain, Original Sheff Lawyer Article from Hartford Courant: UConn Law honors John Brittain, original Sheff lawyer, 33 years after school desegregation suit was filed. Sheff on WSHU Public Radio After 33 years in Connecticut courts, a Hartford school integration lawsuit reaches a new settlement.

SMC Updates < Back July 2014 Meeting Who: Led by SMC Staff/Leadership What: SMC Updates Where: SMC Offices - 75 Charter Oak Ave. 06106 When: July 19, 2014 at 2:00:00 PM Join us for a working brunch on July 19th from 10:00am-12:00pm. We’ll provide updates while you enjoy some coffee and tasty food (food will be here starting at 9:30 so feel free to come a little early), and then we plan to break into groups to brainstorm ideas and set goals for our new volunteer committees . Sheff Movement Office 75 Charter Oak Avenue, Building #1 (If you are using GPS, type the address as 146 Wyllys Street) Hartford, CT 06106 RSVP: Please email sheffmovementcoalition@gmail.com to confirm your attendance, so there’s enough (but not too much!) food. Previous Next