Conversations in Community: Education Equity After Sheff | What is the Way Forward?

Two decades after the landmark court decision on the Sheff versus O’Neill case, how do we achieve education equity in Connecticut?

More than half of Hartford’s students still attend low-performing schools. Our November CUTLINE episode, "Striving Toward Education Equity", explored the complex issues around housing, race and inequity, educational funding, and the achievement and opportunity gaps facing kids and families in Hartford and many other Connecticut communities.

How did we get to this point? How can we strive toward education equity in Connecticut?

This Community Conversation featured clips from the episode, hosted an engaging community conversation with education experts, and answered your questions.

Watch video of the event below.

Host:

Vanessa de la Torre
Executive Editor @New England News Collaborative (NENC)
Prior to joining Connecticut Public, de la Torre was an award-winning Hartford Courant reporter who covered Hartford public schools and the aftermath of the Sheff v. O’Neill case. She is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford University’s Graduate Program in Journalism.

Speakers:

Robert Cotto, Jr.
Robert is a former member of the Hartford board of education and Director, HMTCA-Trinity College Partnership. He is also a PhD candidate in education policy at UConn.

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
Investigative Reporter @Connecticut Public
She previously covered education, housing, and juvenile justice for The Connecticut Mirror. She has won national awards for investigative reporting for her coverage of segregation and educational inequities.

Henley Solomon
Henley is an Open Choice student who graduated in 2015 from Conard High School in West Hartford. Now a Long Term Substitute Teacher in that school system, he has both personal and professional experience to share about the challenges Open Choice students face, and what it takes to persevere.