The Suburban Promise of Brown: Addressing Challenges to Sustaining Racially Diverse Schools and Communities
Symposium of Ideas, Solutions and Possibilities on the 60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Friday May 2, 2014
Supported by the Rauch Foundation
Symposium Schedule
8:00-8:45 Registration, Coffee and Breakfast
8:45 – 9:30 Welcome and Invited Address on the Housing-School Nexus in Suburbia
Susan Fuhrman, Teachers College, Columbia University and Nancy Rauch Douzinas, Trustee, Teachers College and President, Rauch Foundation
Opening Keynote: Xavier de Souza Briggs, Vice President, Economic Opportunity and Assets, Ford Foundation, The Future of Opportunity: Race and Inclusive Change in America's Suburbs
9:30-10:45 This is Not the Cleaver’s Suburb: Macro Trends of Suburban Demographics, Segregation and Acceptance of Diversity
Moderator: Nate Goodson, Minister; Councilman, Upper Darby Township, PA
Panelists: Traci Burch, Northwestern University, Can We All Get Along, Revisited: Racial Attitudes, the Tolerance for Diversity, and the Prospects for Integration in the 21st Century
Sheryll Cashin, Georgetown University, Place, Not Race: The Geography of Educational Opportunity
John Logan, Brown University, Separate and Unequal in Suburbia
10:45-11 Break
11-12:15 Policies and Practices that Work Against Sustainable, Diverse Suburbs and Schools
Moderator: Luis Huerta, Teachers College, Columbia University
Myron Orfield, University of Minnesota Law School, Racial Diverse Suburbs and the Challenge of Housing and Educational Discrimination
Doug Ready, Teachers College, Columbia University, The Price of Exclusion: Residential Home Prices and School District Racial/Ethnic Composition in Nassau County, New York
Michael Rebell, Teachers College, Columbia University, The “Perfect Storm” of Property Tax Caps, Hyper Accountability, and Anti-Public Education Politics: Are Divided and Increasingly Diverse Suburban School Districts Sustainable?
12:15-1:00
Speaker: Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Moderator: Ernest Morrell, Institute of Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
1-2 Break, Box Lunch and Breakouts with Grassroots Organizers working in diverse suburbs across the country
During these informal breakout sessions, we will ask participants to consider specific aspects of the housing/school nexus in older diverse suburbs. We are looking to collect new ideas, best practices, and problem areas that need to be resolved. Please come ready to brainstorm and relate the discussion to your own local context while enjoying your lunch and networking.
Supporting the Whole Child Through Integrated School Services in Diverse Suburbs
ROOM: GDH177
TC Host: Jeff Henig, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: Joan Grangenois –Thomas, Parent, Thomas Edison Elementary School, NY
JoAnne Ferrara – Manhattanville College’s Professional Development School co-located at the Edison School, NY
Land Use Policies and Education in the Suburbs
ROOM: GDH281
TC Host: Ansley Erickson, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: Elaine Gross – President, Erase Racism, NY
Jennifer Rojas – Vice President of Grants and Operations, Rauch Foundation, NY
The Role of Federal Housing Programs in Suburban Local Education Policy
ROOM: GDH285
TC Host: Robert Alcala, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: Phil Tegeler – Executive Director, Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), Washington, DC Janis Risch – Building One PA
Tax policy and school finance
ROOM: ZB109
TC Host: Michael Rebell, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: Louis Wool – Superintendent, Harrison Central School District, NY David Cummings – Montclair, NJ Board of Education
Diversity in suburban schools: How to maintain academic excellence?
ROOM: MY130
TC Host: Tom Hatch, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: Bill Heidenreich – Superintendent, Valley Stream Central High School District, NY Anthony Mignella – Principal, Memorial Junior High School, NY
Issues of Racial Integration In Diverse Suburban Counties and Schools
ROOM: GDH279
TC Host: Joe Rodgers, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: LaRuth Gray – Scholar in Residence, NYU Metro Center and former administrator in New Rochelle Laura Bigaouette – Manhatanville College Changing Suburbs Institute, NY
School District-Developers and Real Estate Agent Relationships
ROOM: GDH281
TC Host: Veronica Holly, Teachers College, Columbia University Facilitators: Mitchell Pally – Chief Executive Officer, Long Island Builders Association, NY Beth Daugherty – President, Maplewood-South Orange, NJ Board of Education
Infrastructure Investment and Education in Diverse Suburbs:
ROOM: GDH179
TC Host: Ellie Drago-Severson, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitators: David Sabatino – Envision Valley Stream, NY Nate Goodson – Building One PA
2-3:15 Taking it to the Streets: From DC to the Grassroots
Moderator: Elaine Gross, Erase Racism
Susan Eaton, One Nation Indivisible and the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School, Creating and Sustaining Diversity in a Changing Nation: Stories from the Field
Eileen Santiago, Thomas Edison Elementary School, Port Chester, NY, Strategies for Support Economically Disadvantaged, Minority Students in Our Changing Suburbs
Carol Burris, South Side High School, Rockville Center, NY, Is School Integration Enough? How Schools can Realize the Promise of Brown through Integrated Classrooms
Rob Breymaier, Oak Park Regional Housing Center, The Oak Park Strategy: Creating and Sustaining an Integrated Community over Five Decades
Marlon Millner, Marlon Millner, Councilman at-Large, Norristown, PA, Beyond the Academic – Analysis, Advocacy, and Action: The Organizing Model in the Pennsylvania Southeastern Suburbs of Housing policy as Education policy
3:15-3:30 Break
3:30-4:45 Policies at the Federal, State and Local Levels Needed to Sustain Diverse and Vibrant Schools and Communities
Moderator: Jeffrey Henig, Teachers College, Columbia University
Sharon Lynn Kagan, Teachers College, Columbia University, Early Childhood Policies: Promoting Diverse Programs and Services
Paul Scully, Executive Director, Building One America
Tom Rogers, Nassau County BOCES, Leveraging Existing Structures to Equalize Opportunities Immediately
4:45-5:30
Speaker: Jeannie Oakes, Ford Foundation
Video on the Future of Public Education in Suburbia
Moderator: Amy Stuart Wells, Teachers College, Columbia University, The “Perfect Storm” of Property Tax Caps, Hyper Accountability, and Anti-Public Education Politics: Are Divided and Increasingly Diverse Suburban School Districts Sustainable?