Does research show integration improves student outcomes in Connecticut? Do magnet schools drain money from neighborhood schools? How does the lottery work? What’s next for school desegregation? We provide some answers.
Is Desegregation Working
Posted inEducation
Here’s why some students land a seat in coveted magnet schools outside the lottery
Students enrolled in a magnet school run by the Capitol Region Education Council last school year were already attending another magnet school, but needed to transfer schools because of safety reasons – such as being bullied – or because they were foster children or homeless and requested changing schools. It’s still unclear what happened in Hartford Public Schools’ magnet schools.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Fate of state’s school integration efforts rests with federal judge
BRIDGEPORT — A federal judge will soon determine whether his court should get involved in how the state awards enrollment to students in high-performing magnet schools located throughout Connecticut. At issue is whether the lottery’s algorithm – which is designed to limit enrollment of black and Hispanic students in a school to 75 percent – is discriminatory, and therefore a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Posted inEducation
Do magnet schools need white students to be great?
In the Hartford region, a difference in philosophies about whether segregation contributes to poor educational outcomes divides parents, educators and lawmakers. Most magnet schools have no problem attracting enough white students from the suburbs to go to school with city kids, but some struggle. This means seats in some schools are left open to maintain diversity – a reality that is causing a rift among neighbors about what should happen next. On Tuesday, a federal judge will consider whether the state must stop considering race when awarding seats.