Rather than typing a traditional paper to be read only by their professor, students in the Cities Suburbs and Schools seminar compose web essays, which blend textual narrative and digital evidence and are designed for public audiences, with invited guest evaluators. Comments are welcome.
Spring 2016: Historical web essays on civil rights activism in education
- 1966: The Women Behind Project ConcernLillian
- 1966+40 Years: A Look Back at Project ConcernJessica Bosco
- 1969: What Did Hartford Schools Need?James Guerrero
- 1970 Lumpkin v. Dempsey: Activism in the CourtNicolas Nagle
- 1985: To Steal a Free Education: The Consequences of Jumping District LinesVianna Iorio
- 1985: Why did the Fosters Jump the Line?Jiyun Lee (Lisa)
- 1989: A Fearless Leader: The Story of Elizabeth Horton SheffCara Midlige
- 1996: The Sheff Plaintiffs: A Long and Arduous Road to Integrated EducationMichelle Herbert
Guest evaluators:
- Jasmin Agosto (Trinity ’10 and NYU Gallatin MA ’15), Hartford artist/activist/ researcher
- Glenn Mitoma, Assistant Professor of Education and Human Rights, and Director of the Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut
- Susan Campbell, Distinguished Lecturer in journalism, University of New Haven
Evaluation criteria:
- Does the essay tell a compelling story from the perspective of people at that point in time?
- Does the essay make insightful claims about the past, supported with persuasive evidence?
- Does this blend of text and digitized sources make you think about the topic in new ways?
Spring 2015 Wesleyan seminar web essays:
- Are Choice Schools Worth The Money?Hans How
- Better Choice? Try Better TransportationAli Felman
- English Language Learners Underrepresented in Connecticut’s Choice SchoolsClaire Miller
- Examining the Relationship between Communities of Hartford Choice Schools and Discussion of Student DemographicsEmma Kemler
- Finding the Flaws in Claims about School Choice: What Do We Really Know About School Choice and Student OutcomesLeib Sutcher
- Redesigning the Open Communities Alliance Housing Mobility App to Increase Ease of UseClaire Bradach
- Redesigning the Open Communities Alliance Mobility App to Help Connecticut Residents Find Affordable HousingSG
- Reduced Isolation: An Examination of Integration in Magnet and Charter SchoolsJessica Carlson
- Still Separate and Still Unequal: Understanding Racial Segregation in Connecticut SchoolsAlix Liss
- The “Not So Dirty” Dozen, Plus a Few: Ways Hartford Magnet Schools Influence Student EnrollmentAlyssa Glanzer
- The Invisible Demographics of Hartford-Area Magnet SchoolsRachel Unger
Guest evaluators: Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens and Kenny Feder
- Does the essay present a compelling argument and/or narrative about a significant aspect of choice in schooling and/or housing?
- Does it inspire the reader to think about this topic in new ways?
- Are claims persuasively supported with appropriate evidence and is the reasoning well developed?
- Does the essay also consider counter-arguments or conflicting evidence?
- Does the essay make effective use of the web format by blending text with appropriate digital elements (such as links, images, charts, maps, etc.)?
- Is the essay organized and well written? Does it include sufficient background for audiences unfamiliar with the topic?
- Does the essay cite all sources in an appropriate format, so that future readers may find them?
Fall 2012 web essays:
- Are All Magnet Schools Created Equal?Brigit Rioual, Nicole Sagullo
- Does buying a home also buy you entrance into a school?Kerry McCarthy
- Hartford: the Poster Child for Portfolio-Based School ReformBy Genevieve Uslander and Hollyn Cote
- Is There Hope for Hartford? The Inclusive Zoning Policy of Montgomery County Has Had Dramatic Impacts on the Educational SystemAmanda Gurren and Mary Daly
- School Desegregation in Hartford: Insight from a Florida GirlR. M. Benjamin
- The Missing Link: The Connection between Housing and School Policy in the Sheff v. O’Neill CaseVictoria Smith Ellison
- What’s Space Got to Do With it? How School Environment Influences LearningJorell Diaz and Pauline Lake
Guest evaluators: Wesleyan students from SOCL 419: Education Policy in the US
- Does the web-essay present a compelling argument or story about a significant aspect of cities, suburbs, and schools? Does it inspire the reader to think in new ways?
- Are the claims supported with appropriate evidence and is the reasoning well developed? Is counter-evidence fully considered?
- Does it make effective use of web-essay format by integrating narrative text with appropriate digital elements (such as maps, charts, photos, videos, links)?
- Is the web-essay organized and well written?
- Does it include sufficient background for audiences unfamiliar with the topic?
- Does it cite all sources in an appropriate format that future readers may find?
Fall 2011 seminar web-essays:
Guest evaluators: Claudia Dresser ’10 and Devlin Hughes ’09
Desegregated Schools within Segregated Classrooms: The Reality of Racialized Tracking at Magnet Schools, by Pornpat Pootinath and Nathan Walsh
Housing in Greater Hartford: Does it Affect Education?, by Booker Evans and Carlos Velazquez
A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents: School Choice Shouldn’t be this Complicated, by Ashley Ardinger and Courtney Chaloff
The Sheff Shift: Where Does Higher Student Achievement Fit into the Sheff v. O’Neill Remedy?, by Shanese Caton
Is Open Choice an Effective Program in Providing an Equal Educational Opportunity to Hartford Students?, by Bryan Garrett-Farb
The Middle Ground between Voluntary and Mandatory Desegregation, by Karina Torres
How the No Child Left Behind Act Widened Achievement Gaps in the Greater Hartford Region, by Daniel Luke
Prospect Ave, A Game of Inches: Educational Opportunity Between Hartford and West Hartford, by Bobby Moore Jr.
School Choice: The Child’s Perspective on High School Education, by Jessica Schlundt and Louise Balsmeyer
To Bus or Not to Bus? The Choice of a Hartford Student, by Hannah Malenfant and Candace Baker
Success within Segregation: Jumoke Academy Exposes the Limits of Integration as an Educational Benchmark, by Fionnuala Darby Hudgens and Mary Morr