Two weeks ago, I commented on the significance of the New York Times editorial board's willingness to take a position on school integration. Two weeks later, the board is still pressing its case and making new important arguments. On Sunday, it again called out the state for its segregation and indicated it need look no further than Connecticut for solutions.
The fact that New York has the most segregated public schools in the nation does not bode well for the state’s future. It is a disaster for poor and minority children, who are disproportionately trapped in schools that will not prepare them for the new economy. And it is harming children of all races and economic levels who are in demographically homogeneous schools that do not reflect society or expose them to fresh perspectives.
New York’s political leaders need not look far for ideas. Connecticut has a desegregation program that has revitalized the once-dismal school system in Hartford. Created in response to a 1996 State Supreme Court ruling, it has relied on a voluntary school transfer plan and a vibrant system of magnet schools to improve opportunities for inner-city children and draw suburban families back to a city that was considered an educational dead zone.
They then point to the success of that program:
Racial isolation was the norm when the suit was first filed. Recent data show that 47.5 percent of Hartford children now attend integrated schools — defined under the Sheff agreement as schools in which fewer than three-fourths of the children are members of minority groups. This means that more than half of city students are still confined to segregated, often low-quality schools. But the agreement has shown many parents what public schooling can be and is creating demand for reform of the schools left behind.
The Hartford experience shows that it is possible to fight racial isolation and improve education at the same time.
The full editorial is here.