Please join representatives from the Sheff Movement Coalition on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in the South Church’s Social Hall, for a community conversation on
school integration and equity in the Greater Hartford region. Light refreshment will be served.

The Sheff Movement Coalition is a grassroots all volunteer IRS 501(c)(3) organization of parents, students, educators, and community members working to assure access to quality
integrated education for every child in the Hartford region. In 1996, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ruled that racial and socioeconomic segregation of Hartford students violated
their constitutional rights, and ordered the State of Connecticut to provide access to a quality integrated education for all children.  More than 20 years later, Greater Hartford is home to a network of award-winning and nationally-recognized magnet schools and an Open Choice program that together serve over 20,000 Hartford and suburban students. Unfortunately, these achievements face significant challenges in our current political and cultural climate. The State has not fulfilled its Constitutional obligation. Educational changes that have been agreed upon by the parties to the
litigation have not been fully implemented.  The network of 40-plus magnet schools was designed to lure white, middle-class children to voluntarily enroll with minority city youth. As the debate heats up, the future of school desegregation efforts in Connecticut remains uncertain. Controversy and misunderstanding continue to surround how the enrollment lottery works for magnet schools, how the schools are funded, and whether the success of the schools depends on the diversity of the students. 

The Sheff Movement Coalition’s role is to be an advocate for these children — working with the Sheff plaintiffs’ attorneys to help the public and legislature understand the value and importance
to all children - urban and suburban alike - to be educated in integrated classrooms, in effect insuring that the State fully implements the Court’s order.  Learn what can be done to protect and advance our community’s efforts towards diversity and integration, and how we can work together to support our children’s educational future.

Please contact Leslie Ohta at 202-538-1161 or Leslieohta@gmail.com for further information.