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

School choice lottery a mystery for parents as desegregation efforts stall

The confusion surrounding who wins the lottery – or doesn’t – has fueled displeasure and distrust among many Hartford residents concerned that the vast network of magnet schools has created a two-tiered education system where thousands of struggling city students are stuck in underperforming neighborhood schools.

Posted inEducation

Landmark CT desegregation case heads back to court

The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, which is under a court order to desegregate Hartford schools, is attempting to redefine a segregated school – from one that is more than 75 percent minority to one that is more than 80 percent minority. The change would raise the threshold at which the state is responsible for stepping in to desegregate a school but also might allow more minority students to attend some magnet schools.

Posted inEducation

$20M agreement will expand school choice to desegregate Hartford schools

State officials agreed Monday to offer 1,325 more children living in Hartford seats in existing magnet or suburban public schools next school year. The agreement is the latest result of an 18-year-old Connecticut Supreme Court decision that ordered the state to eliminate the educational inequities caused by the capital city’s segregated schools.