Author: Emily Meehan

Avoiding Plagiarism

Posted on Author Emily Meehan

Step 1:

Oral Reading skills?  The same.  Imaginative capabilities?  The same.  Ability to stay focused?…the same.  The ability to work cooperatively?  The same.  Willingness to take risks?  The same.  Ease at fitting in?…they’re the same too.  Well, not exactly the same.  The Waverly students lacked the subtleties that, fairly or not, cue mainstream folks about a persons education level and sophistication.

Step 2:

Reading levels?  Equal.  Imagination?  Equal.  Attention span?  Equal.  Cooperation skills?  Equal.  Adventurousness?  Equal.  Confidence?  Equal.  Well, almost equal.  The Waverly students lacked certain skills that set them apart as less educated or less sophisticated.

Step 3:

Reading levels?  Equal.  Imagination?  Equal.  Attention span?  Equal.  Cooperation skills?  Equal.  Adventurousness?  Equal.  Confidence?  Equal.  Well, almost equal.  The Waverly students lacked certain skills that set them apart as less educated or less sophisticated. (Eaton 283)

Eaton, Susan E. The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin of Chapel Hill, 2007. Print.

Step 4:

Even though the differences between the students of Waverly and the Students of Marlborough were very slim, a there was a clear distinction that set the Waverly students apart.  Their lack of knowledge of even simple subjects such as proper vocabulary put them at a disadvantage, and it was not the fault of the individual students.  (Eaton 283)

Step 5:

Even though the differences between the students of Waverly and the Students of Marlborough were very slim, a there was a clear distinction that set the Waverly students apart.  Their lack of knowledge of even simple subjects such as proper vocabulary put them at a disadvantage, and it was not the fault of the individual students, “The Waverly students lacked the subtleties that, fairly or not, cue mainstream folks about a persons education level and sophistication” (Eaton 283).  The inequalities between schooling in the suburbs and in Hartford is reflected through the differences in the schools’ respective students.

Eaton, Susan E. The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin of Chapel Hill, 2007. Print.

 

Scheff 2008 Settlement

Posted on Author Emily Meehan

On April 4, 2008 defendants and plaintiffs of the lawsuit Scheff vs. O’neil met to discuss plans to increase progress in “reducing racial, ethnic, and economic isolation in Hartford Public Schools until June 2013” (1).  Due to the failure of Stipulation 1 in 2007, the court held this settlement to introduce Stipulation II.

This second Stipulation contained new goals to reduce educational isolation in Hartford.  The first goal was to increase the number of Hartford minority students placed in reduced isolation settings.  A reduced isolation setting is an “educational setting with reduced racial, ethnic, and economic isolation”(3).  Simply put, the goal of the Stipulation was to desegregate the schools.

A second goal was to create a five-year plan.  At the end of 5 years, 80% of the demand for Hartford minority students needing seats in reduced isolation settings was to be met.    To achieve this goal, the state would provide sufficient resources needed to implement “Voluntary Interdistrict Programs”, which are tools to reduce racial, ethnic, and economic isolation.  An example of such tools may be a Magnet School.

A problem with previous stipulations was that the goals were not met by the end of the allotted time period.  To try and prevent this from happening, this Stipulation set forth goal measurement plans.  For example, in April of the year three the state would examine the need for seats in reduced isolation settings by minorities.  Next, in November of year 4, the state would evaluate waiting lists for voluntary interdistrict programs, and evaluate how many programs meet this demand.  If the original goal of 80% was not met in 5 years, this party would reconvene (6).  The Stipulation also set up benchmarks to ensure that progress was being made.  For example, after year one 19% of the total goal needed to be met.  Guidelines for calculating these percentages, and monitoring success were also established (6).

To accomplish these goals, the party announced the implementation of a few programs.  The first program is the Comprehensive Management Plan which was designed to oversee all Voluntary Interdistrict Programs.  Goals of the program included, the CMP must establish and track annual strategic targets of progress, it must contain a process for evaluating demand for each Voluntary Interdistrict Program, and include training programs for all teachers within the Scheff Region (8).  In total there were 21 objectives for the CMP that acted as statements guide lining the duties of the plan.

A goal that stuck out to me was one that stated,  “The CMP shall ensure that there are clearly defined opportunities for students to enjoy a continuous K-12 education in reduced isolation settings”(10).  I thought this was interesting because it is a goal that is created to ensure the long-term well-being of individuals, not just entire school districts.

Discussion Questions:

1  Do you believe that this plan covers all the bases or do you think there are gaps in the Stipulation?

2  Is the CMP an adequate way to evaluate progress of the schools?

3 How does this differ from previous Stipulations and how might these differences prevent this Stipulation from failing?

Housing Barriers Exercise

Posted on Author Emily Meehan

“West Hartford Zoning: Report to the Zoning Commission on the Zoning of West Hartford”  was written by Robert Whitten, a commissioner of the Zoning Authority.  This source reports guidelines regarding the purpose of zoning, zoning regulations, and how the commissioners believed zoning was going to benefit West Hartford.

The report begins by explaining why zoning codes were necessary.  In the 1920’s Hartford was becoming congested so people began to move out of the city to West Hartford.  Many  were also attracted to the “comfort…of the open residential sections” (Whitten 6) that West Hartford offered.  Zoning was created to preserve this aspect of West Hartford, as well as to secure the safety from dangers such as fires, and to provide welfare in living and working conditions.

Under the Zoning Authority, commissioners could regulate the size, height, and number of buildings in a specific area.  Commissioners could also regulate plans and materials used to build such structures, as well as where they could be located and the amount of space they could take up.

Zoning divided West Hartford into three districts: residence districts, business districts, and industrial districts.  In residential districts, only structures such as houses, parks, schools, and a other non-business or industrial strustures were permitted.  In the business district, buildings such as retail businesses, offices, and restaurants were all that were permitted.  Finally in the industrial district, only manufacturing and storage structures were allowed.  Within each district, certain boundaries indicating how large a garage could be, or the minimum area of a backyard could be, existed.  These rules were put in place with a goal in mind: to keep West Hartford safe, and from overcrowding.  Housing barriers, such as zoning, at this time were extremely restrictive, and because of this only certain people, who could afford the regulated homes, were allowed to live in areas that enforced zoning codes.

Other sources:

Exclusionary Zoning Litigation by David H Moskowitz.  I found this book by conducting an advanced search on Trincoll.WorldCat.org.  (Moskowitz, 1-5).

Zoning and Diversity in Historical Perspective by Emily Talen.  I found this academic journal by doing an advanced search on the America: History and Life database.

Fiscal Zoning in Suburban Communities by Duane Windsor.  I found the Trincoll.WorldCat.org database to be the easiest to use, so I used that again to find this source.

Discussion Questions:

1)  In what ways was did zoning contribute to unequal housing barriers?

2)  Do you believe the real goal of zoning was to secure safety of the inhabitants of West Hartford, or do you think it was designed to ensure only certain types of people could occupy West Hartford (for example, those who could afford to abide by the restrictions?)

Moskowitz, David H. Exclusionary Zoning Litigation. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Pub., 1977. Print.

Talen, Emily. “Zoning and Diversity in Historical Perspective.” Journal of Planning History 11.4 (2012): 330-47. Print.

Whitten, Robert Harvey. West Hartford Zoning. Report to the Zoning Commission on the Zoning of West Hartford,. West Hartford, CT: Zoning Commission, 1924. 6+. Web.

Windsor, Duane. Fiscal Zoning in Suburban Communities. Lexington, MA: Lexington, 1979. Print.

Emily M. Home Buying Simulation Exercise

Posted on Author Emily Meehan

As a sophomore in college, I never thought I would need to know how to purchase a home for a family and myself.  This exercise gave me the opportunity to simulate the experience of buying a home, and therefore “buying” a school.  To begin searching for a home, I first needed to find out what type of a home I could afford.  I needed a home for my husband, a sixth grader, a third grader, and myself.  After establishing an annual gross income of $66,000, with $5,000 saved for a down payment, and factoring in monthly debt of $500, I discovered that I could afford a home listed between $238,000-$260,000.  To begin searching for a home I searched “Remax.com”, a website that lists homes that are for sale in suburban Hartford.  I found three bedroom homes within my price range that were suitable for my family.  The homes I found were in Bloomfield, East Hartford, West Hartford, and Wethersfield.  I made sure that I could afford the monthly payments, and interest rates that came with these homes.  The homes in Bloomfield, East Hartford, and West Hartford were located in areas that surround many schools, however, I wanted to find a district school because I know that my children would be guaranteed seats in a district school.  In these school districts, I was unable to find a school that both of my children could attend.  I had better luck in Wethersfield.  I found a home located at 22 Fairview Drive with a mortgage $249,000.  It will cost me $1,229 per month.  After one year I will owe $10,539 in interest and after 30 years I will owe $192,668 in interest.  This number is $191,443 over the principle amount, which is very high, and because of this I was not convinced that this would be my best option until I realized that the Wethersfield Public School District offers school that teaches kindergarten through sixth grade, and therefore both my children can attend it.  This school, Charles Wright School, is less diverse than the schools I found in other districts.  It is about one fourth black, Hispanic, or other races, and the remaining students are white (smartchoice).  However, 79% of the students were at or above the test goals in 2012, which is higher than the Connecticut average (smart choice).  Luckily, I do own a car so I can drive my kids to school, but in case I ever could not drive them, the school is only .3 miles away from my home.  Before this exercise, I was unaware of how much interest rates can increase payments on a home.  I also did not know that this much thought went into buying a home.  I now better understand the pressures parents face when trying to buy a home for their families in areas where their children can get the best possible education.