Relational Trust: The Link Between Schools and Communities

Given that schooling is intrinsically a social enterprise, how can public schools overcome the distrust that characterizes so many of the social interactions poor families have with local schools and other public institutions? Anthony Bryk points to four building blocks of trust—respect, personal regard for others, competence in core role competencies and integrity—and their application at the Holiday Elementary School in Chicago, where two-thirds of its student body comes from a public housing complex. For more information on this topic, refer to Dr. Bryk's book Trust in Schools, which offers insights into how trust can be built and sustained in school communities, and identifies some features of public school systems that can impede such development.

Anthony S. Bryk is the Spencer Chair in Organizational Studies at the School of Education, Stanford University.

The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education

Civil rights lawyer Theodore Shaw reminds us that the 50th year anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education is to be commemorated, not celebrated. Since Brown, segregation may no longer be legal, but de facto segregation nonetheless is the rule, not the exception. Race remains a core issue in the United States and, in the face of this reality, the fight to ensure quality public education for all children becomes even more important. For a better understanding of Brown, Mr. Shaw recommends the new edition of Simple Justice by Richard Kluger.

Theodorre M. Shaw is the President & Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund.

Echoes of Brown: Documenting and Performing the Legacy

Through poetry, word, and dance, student researchers (under the guidance of Michelle Fine and Maria Elena Torre) reveal the inequities and the possibilities of public education in America. Interviews with "elders," included Arthur Kinoy (1921–2003), and Sonia Sanchez, who recall their own long quest for social justice to provide a counterpoint to the youth performances.

Arthur Kinoy, the late civil rights lawyer, remembers his first encounter with a young Martin Luther King on the night before an important court date, when Martin advises Kinoy: “Sir, with all due respect, tomorrow when you go in there, remind them that there are, in fact, four branches of government: the executive, the legislative, the judicial, and The People.”

Poet and playwright Sonia Sanchez, who had attended a segregated school in the south and then moved to New York City, says she had a better sense of herself in her closed in and segregated southern school than in New York City, where she attended an integrated school, and could “ride buses everywhere”. “At some point in those classes,” she says, “I was lessening, I was becoming smaller and smaller. I no longer could see myself, I had no sense of myself at all.”

For a copy of the DVD (and book) that includes a video of the 54-minute performance of Echoes of Brown, 50 Years Later click here.

Michelle Fine is the Professor of Social Psychology, Urban Education, and Women’s Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Maria Elena Torre is a Doctoral Candidate at the he Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Federal Briefing: Future Implications for NCLB

More than likely, according to Jack Jennings, there will not be any major amendments to NCLB since Margaret Spellings, the nominee for Secretary of Education, helped write the act. For those hoping for some flexibility on choice or special education, amendments to IDEA, when its reauthorization is concluded, may reconcile some of the inconsistencies with NCLB.

For more on NCLB and its impact, visit www.ctredpol.org.

Jack Jennings is the Director of the Center on Education Policy.

PEN’s NCLB State Hearings

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a magnet for all sorts of discontent with public schools given that its provisions effect every child and every teacher. Given the law's complexity, there needs to be a lot of education about its provisions and about the rights granted to parents under the law. There also needs to be a lot of concerted effort and resources expended in order to reach its goals.

PEN conducted nine hearings on NCLB in eight states. The purpose of these hearings was to listen to the voices of community members, parents, and students on the impact of the legislation and to leverage those voices in state and national conversations about changes to NCLB.

Areas of greatest concern include high-stakes testing, supplemental services, and the impact that being labeled “failing” is having on schools, teachers and students. PEN’s NCLB hearing reports will be published in January 2005.

Public Education, Globalization, and Democracy

The conference concluded with a look at schools and community in a global context, and a discussion of what it takes to build a system of education that responds to the needs of an emerging democracy.

Quoting from Ithaca, by Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, Senator Roco reminded us that the true value of education is to realize the fullness of human potential—to fight the learned helplessness that comes from oppression and to free the capacity of the human spirit that is crushed by corruption.

Johanna Mendelson Forman reminded us that there is no more powerful force in human society than education. With almost one-third of the world’s children receiving no education, and millions of others being educated in systems that promote conflict, violence, and hatred, the United States, as the world’s only super power, has vital role to play in the globalization of quality education for all children.