Date: Fri 18-Apr-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

schools-Sheff-O'Neill-students

Full Text:

Newton Students Tell Legislators How To Fix Schools

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Everything now we must

assume is in our hands;

we have no right to assume

otherwise, if we do not

falter in our duty now, we

may be able, handful that

we are, to end the racial

nightmare, and achieve

our country, and change the

history of the world.

By James Baldwin,

The Fire Next Time

When Newtown High School students in Gwen Parks' American Studies class chose

that quotation to introduce their "Plan To Provide Quality Education For All

Children In The State Of Connecticut," they were already off to a great start.

Moving right along, they continued to draft several in-depth proposals for

bringing about quality education. Their plan was well organized and showed a

thoughtful response to the recent Sheff vs O'Neill ruling on school

desegregation.

How they would convince Connecticut voters to pay to implement it was less

clear. But no one could fault their hard work or their good intentions.

"Handful that we are," by taking those steps the students did, indeed, make

significant strides toward sharing the common burden to "end the racial

nightmare."

They not only wrote out their proposals, they took them to Hartford and

presented them to those in the best possible position to act: the governor and

state legislators.

On Friday, April 4, 24 Newtown High School students drove to the state Capitol

and made a series of four presentations, fielded lawmakers' questions, and

circulated copies of their plan to members of the governor's Educational

Improvement Panel.

"The governor spent at least 15 to 20 minutes in a dialogue with the

students," said Gwen Parks, who is Newtown High School social studies

co-chair.

What Do Kids Know?

Recalling what happened in Hartford just one week before, Mrs Parks said

Friday, April 11, that she is proud of what her students accomplished.

"When people ask me, `What do kids know?' I say, `More than you would think,'"

Mrs Park said, referring to their understanding of the effects of racial

imbalance and the need to bring about educational improvement for all

children.

"Some of the students' responses did show a certain degree of naivete," Mrs

Parks added, especially concerning funding and the voters support for

educational improvement.

The attitude that "there is money there" is an assumption many Newtown

students seem ready to make, Mrs Parks said.

At least, when someone in Hartford raised the money issue - whether to spend

money on Connecticut students or on building the Whalers a new stadium, for

example - the students and the governor seemed to be in complete agreement:

The money should go toward education.

And to the students' credit, they did present a list of financing options

ranging from a corporate and business tax, private grants, state sales tax and

reinstatement of toll booths.

Another area where Mrs Parks thought the students "might have been

misunderstood by the legislators" concerned their fundamental support for

neighborhood schools.

"The Newtown kids thought it was very important to keep the neighborhood

schools intact, but they would like to see them all brought up to a common

standard," Mrs Parks said.

Something else her students learned was that the word "busing" is highly

charged and likely to raise hackles when used to describe methods of

transporting students to and from regional educational centers.

"That word has an especially bad connotation left over from the sixties," Mrs

Parks said.

Instead, the Newtown students learned to talk about "ways of transporting

students between neighborhoods and districts," and to remind audiences that

attendance at any charter or magnet school or regional educational center, as

proposed in their plan, would be voluntary.

`The Plan' Summarized

The following is an abbreviated summary of the Newtown students' proposal,

called the Quality Educational Plan:

Divide the state into eight separate regions , each having at least one

centralized learning facility, known as an Advanced Educational Complex or

(AEC). The AEC would offer state-of-the-art equipment and the best teachers

possible to equalize educational opportunity for all Connecticut children.

The AECs would not supplant the neighborhood schools, but would provide

educational opportunities and a greater racial balance to those students who

might attend them.

A core curriculum would be offered at the AEC, providing four levels of

instruction: basic, college prep, honors and advance placement.

Attendance at the regional AEC would be voluntary and could include students

in grades K-12, with the younger students attending a maximum of two days/week

and the high school students attending up to five days/week.

Pre-schools would also be available at the AECs, offering "6 am to 6 pm"

programs to answer the needs of working mothers, as well as quality education

in an integrated setting.

Uniform scheduling throughout the state would mean that all vacation times and

holidays would be coordinated so that educational opportunities would be

equally available at the neighborhood schools or the AECs.

Equal transportation would be provided for all students to and from their

homes to the neighborhood schools and/or the AECs.

High quality educators means that teachers would have the opportunity and

incentives for further enrichment and study, and that there might be movement

of teachers between the neighborhood schools and between the regional

educational centers, according to need.

Extra curricular activities would be retained at the neighborhood schools, but

All-Star Divisions in several sports could be formed at the AECs reflecting

the outstanding talent across diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Special Needs And Social Programs would be addressed and available to all

students within their regions.

Security at all neighborhood schools and AECs would be a top priority.

Lawmakers' Response

Mrs Parks said she was encouraged by the level of attention the governor and

the legislators paid to the Newtown students.

"I've received notes, letters and some follow-up phone calls from several who

heard them speak that day," Mrs Parks said.

She was also encouraged to hear one member of the Educational Improvement

Panel [designated by Gov Rowland to draft proposals in response to the Sheff

vs O'Neill issues], say he "would give a serious look at some of those ideas."

"He said that all things being equal, if his committee came up with similar

proposals, he'd go with the kids' [guidelines]," Mrs Parks said.

She also looks forward to an upcoming Newtown Board of Education meeting when

her American Studies students will speak and summarize their plan.