(report from Achieve Hartford)
How can Connecticut effectively address the achievement gap - and the economic challenges - that stand in the way of a better quality of life for individuals and their communities?
That was a prime topic of a probing and candid panel discussion on June 10, inspired by the bicentennial of the birth of Connecticut abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe and convened by the HBS Center.
Thought leaders and thoughtful students examined our most vexing urban challenges and issued a collective call to action, underscoring both the urgency of dealing with the achievement gap and the importance of valuing education at the grassroots level. We were most focused on the panel that centered on education and equity, but the additional two panels, on the economics of race and health disparities, were totally interrelated and every bit as as worthwhile. As part of the program, local, state, and national leaders, including several members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Rep. John Larson, brought contemporary perspectives to the themes of race and justice.
Referring to those matters in her time, Harriet Beecher Stowe said that "Courage to say disagreeable things, when it is necessary to say them for the highest good of the person addressed, is a sublime quality."
There was quite a bit of that quality in the conversation Friday; you can see for yourself (the entire discussion is on video).
Here are some of the highlights of the panelists' recommendations for closing the achievement gap in Connecticut, embarrassingly the widest in any state:
DEFINE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP FULLY AND FAIRLY ... SO THAT EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT CAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ADDRESSING IT. Dr. Christina Kishimoto, the Hartford School District's incoming superintendent, called for Connecticut to define the achievement gap and the performance measures relative to it - without a punitive approach. Whereas state assessments provide very compelling data to say we need to change, she said, the published test results are based on absolute scores and are but one indicator among many, including graduation rates, course completion, and college-going rates. With a clear measure can come a set of reform policies - like those already under way in Hartford - for which all school districts can be held accountable.
THIS SHOULDN'T BE A TURF WAR. Education, child welfare, juvenile justice, and community-based agencies often operate on parallel tracks but not necessarily together, Vice President Linda Spears of the Child Welfare League of America observed. In addition to taking a holistic view of emotional and social supports for children, she said, a concrete and simple solution would be for different agencies at all levels and in all sectors "to play together well."
ADDRESS THE CROSS-CUTTING OPPORTUNITY GAP. Rep. Jason Rojas of East Hartford, echoing Ms. Spears, said the opportunity gap cuts across the arenas of education, quality housing, jobs, and health care - and that the disparate programs in those fields need to be consolidated for better planning about the best use of available resources. Also, he said, we need to move away from vilifying teachers and parents - a tendency he called "a crime in our society."
CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP WITH URGENCY ... AND HONESTY. Rev. Michael Williams of the State Department of Children and Families (and an Achieve Hartford! Board Member) urged immediate action on three fronts, saying we need "not a tomorrow, but a today solution" with:
- Precise attention to the preparation of children up to age 6 to make sure all kids in all communities are ready to go to school;
- A new priority placed on elevating the value of education, because today it is questionable where education stands by way of a collective value in our communities; and
- A stronger relationship between institutions, their leaders, and the community, which is extraordinarily important.
As Rev. Williams put it, "Institutions cannot stand isolated in communities and assume that this problem will be solved. Children don't live in institutions, children don't live in schools; children live in families, families live in communities."
Speaking candidly, Rev. Williams also said the proper context for addressing the achievement gap is neither economic nor geographic, but racial. "I don't even venture down the road of saying it is intentional racism," he said, but structural racism exists - and is the only way to explain the disproportionate representation of people of color not just in comparatively lower academic performance but across "all life domains," including poor health, low wealth, incarceration, and in child welfare, whether in suburbs or cities.
KEEP PARENTS AND STUDENTS IN MIND. After Brandon McGee of the Urban Alliance suggested that "peer parenting" efforts and supportive outreach from the clergy could well support parents as they elevate expectations and monitor homework, the achievement gap panel concluded with UConn student Jay Bhagat of Southington suggesting a centralized list accessible to parents, where they could review their children's progress toward content and curricular goals. Finally, Jordan Carter from Capital Prep Magnet School offered some very good questions:
- Are parents instilling "that importance of education in their children," to make sure they are motivated to go to school and excel?
- Are teachers committed to "reach, teach, and motivate a diverse student population" (including calling on African-American and Latino students who might really want to answer the question ... but have their heads down)?
- Are students trying hard enough to pursue education, "because you are only benefiting yourself"?
- And for all, is it scarce resources or greater individual "motivation and drive" that is the more powerful and determinative factor when it comes to success?
Dr. Kishimoto, Rev. Williams, the students, and the many other panelists throughout Friday's program had it right: It is time to better define the achievement gap and to support schools - but also to hold them accountable for addressing it, and to better equip and engage parents, inspire students, and focus on any and all related action steps with real urgency. We agree - and we cannot afford to waste another day.
