Educators and advocates for desegregation, hailing from five different states, congregated at a statewide invitational conference held last week. Engaging in discussions about past and present voluntary school-integration efforts, the participants of the conference came to a unanimous agreement on a number of crucial points. They noted that racial segregation in many urban schools, particularly in Northeastern states, has reached alarming proportions and requires immediate attention from communities, school administrators, and state legislators. They also stressed the need for new strategies that are both effective and cost-efficient.
The participants emphasized the importance of involving communities, specifically parent groups, in order to achieve successful integration efforts. They argued that desegregation programs should be seen as beneficial for both cities and suburbs, promoting socioeconomic and cultural benefits in addition to advancing education. The conference, which aimed to lay the groundwork for improving interest in voluntary integration in New York state, concluded with a call for the formation of an activist coalition to drive desegregation goals forward. The officials from the University of Rochester Graduate School of Education and Human Development, one of the conference’s sponsors, committed to exploring the possibility of such a coalition and staying in close contact with all the participants.
The sessions were jointly sponsored by Rochester’s Urban-Suburban Inter-District Transfer Program (Project us) and received financial support from the Wilson Foundation. The event drew 85 invitees, including local school officials, businesspeople, and minority leaders. During the conference, attendees focused on existing desegregation programs that have already served as national models. These programs hailed from Milwaukee, Boston, Rochester, and Hartford, and the speakers included esteemed experts and researchers in the field of integration, such as Benjamin Williams, associate superintendent in the Chicago public schools’ office of equal educational opportunity, and Gary Orfield, a political scientist from the University of Chicago renowned for his major integration studies sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Ford Foundation.
Government involvement was also a topic of discussion during the conference. Mr. Williams urged school districts to incorporate desegregation efforts into their regular school programs, supported by local budgets. On the other hand, Mr. Orfield stressed the importance of state governments’ participation. Currently, only a few states offer incentives for desegregation. According to Mr. Orfield, "We must engage in reasoned discussions with legislators and state authorities to persuade them that initiating desegregation programs is in their own best interest, before they are compelled to do so. If any action is to be taken in desegregation, whether voluntary or mandatory, the state must be involved. In the absence of federal funding, the role of the state is indispensable." Other leaders at the conference, including David Bennett, deputy superintendent of the Milwaukee schools, pointed to the leadership shown by state governments in Massachusetts and Wisconsin in addressing desegregation and the challenges faced by minority schools.
Mr. Bennett explained that in April 1976, the Wisconsin legislature passed the "Chapter 220" plan. This plan allowed students in Milwaukee to attend city schools of their choice in order to counteract racial isolation. It also facilitated student transfers between the city and 13 suburban schools without reducing state revenue for participating districts. In the previous year, 25,000 students transferred within the city district, leading to a 33% increase in state aid per pupil for the Milwaukee school district. The surplus revenue was then used to establish magnet schools aimed at attracting suburban students. Furthermore, an additional 1,175 students voluntarily commuted between Milwaukee and its suburbs under individual contractual arrangements, with the state continuing to provide aid to both the sending and receiving schools. Last year, Wisconsin dedicated a total of $25 million to desegregation efforts, demonstrating the state’s commitment "to promote cultural and racial integration… through the provision of special aid."
Similarly, delegates were informed that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has shown support for desegregation through the Metropolitan Council for Education Opportunity (metco), a nonprofit community organization that utilizes state funds and private grants to transport minority students from Boston to approximately 200 schools in 36 surrounding communities.
The directors of Rochester’s urban-suburban program (Project us), George Simmons and his predecessor Norman Gross, explained the operation and history of the program. Originating in 1965, this voluntary desegregation initiative has continued over the years with varying degrees of success. Presently, the program arranges transportation for 1,000 city students to six suburban districts, which assumed the administrative costs of the program after federal aid ceased last year. The schools now receive partial reimbursement of the $93,000 cost through state aid provided by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a regional office of the state education department responsible for administering the program. Additionally, around 200 suburban students participate in Rochester programs, with transportation expenses totaling $350,000 provided by the state.
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