Families: Opt In To Our Public Schools

(Opinion) Two years ago, as the parent of a toddler, I read the New Haven Independent’s coverage of a local lecture by Nikole Hannah-Jones, in which she provocatively and purposefully charged white parents with perpetuating school segregation through their choices about where to enroll their children in school. This decision was not squarely in front of me, based on my child’s age at the time. Years before Justin and I had kids, we bought a house in the East Rock neighborhood. Most families in our neighborhood send their kids to Worthington Hooker School and I assumed we would do the same. However, Ms. Hannah-Jones’s words struck a chord with me and I started to wonder — what other options should we be considering?

Last year, we attended the kindergarten info session at the New Haven School Choice Expo, which included representatives from each of New Haven’s public schools. We had gone to visit a few of these representatives and to ask questions about the lottery. Attending the Expo opened our eyes to the diversity of options within New Haven schools. We proceeded to tour three schools, two neighborhood schools with dual language programs and one magnet school. As we visited those schools, I saw how our child and family could, to borrow a phrase I recently learned, ​“intentionally, joyfully, and humbly” become a family at an integrating school. (More on that below.) Our school tours were enlightening and energizing. The teachers and staff were vibrant, and at each school we found something unique and impressive.

There is no shortage of test scores and metrics available to compare schools. But what parent looks at their child and sees a data point? We immediately understand that our children are more than their test scores. Visiting a school drives this point home, because you see children who are loved and supported by educators and staff, learning and growing together. Children are not data; schools are children; schools are not data.

Standardized test scores do not capture soft skills and give no insight into cultural understandings. Many years ago, I attended a public high school in Virginia, considered one of the ​“best schools” (public or private) in the country — based on data. I vividly recall a college counselor warning my graduating class that the school’s surveys of alumni showed that a vast majority believed the school had successfully prepared them academically for college, but failed to prepare them socially and culturally. 

In fact, the school that we ultimately chose for our daughter ranks ​“3 out of 10” for ​“quality” on a national nonprofit organization’s school-data website. While I was initially apprehensive about what that might mean, in reality it has been meaningless. We’ve been happy with the school — and most importantly, so is she. She loves her teachers, has made new friends, comes home singing in Spanish, and is learning important things about people, and about the world — and she is better for it. Of course, there are also areas for improvement. As a parent, I recognize that my child’s school is part of a vibrant community, my child is part of that school, and I too am learning how to be involved.

The Integrated Schools movement — ​“a grassroots movement of, by and for parents who are intentionally, joyfully and humbly enrolling their children in integrating schools” — puts words to the experience of our family and many others in the New Haven Public Schools. There are major challenges to overcome in order for our district to serve all children well. But like all public institutions, we bear a collective responsibility to engage with, nurture, and support them.

We could have a separate discussion, and I know people who are having it, about what type of school choice system we should have. But the more immediate and pressing decision for families is: where am I going to enroll my child next year? To answer that question, I invite you to take the Two-Tour Pledge and visit at least two schools in our district — and not only those with the best test scores. You can get started Saturday at the School Choice Expo at Wilbur Cross, at which every school will be represented. I think you’ll find a great fit for your child, just as we did.

Attorney Natalie Elicker lives in New Haven with her husband, Justin Elicker, and their two children. Pictured: Daughter Molly on the school bus.