Equity and Urban Schools

When I was growing up in Connecticut, there was a case being tried called Sheff vs. O'Neill. The premise being argued was that students in Hartford were receiving a separate AND unequal education. The cause of this was the district lines that prevented Hartford students from entering the more affluent, and better performing, suburban schools. While the case was started in 1988, and appealed on 2+ occasions since, Hartford students still languish at or near the bottom of statistical measures in CT and the district is 94% black or Latino.

Seattle Public Schools have similar issues with the achievement gap, as well as homogeneous schools within the district itself. On Tuesday the district is going to announce a restructuring, and the likelihood is that buildings will be closed. Schools are going to grow, perhaps as big as 500 students. I also wonder whether more scripted pacing guides are in the future, like other large urban school districts. Whether in Hartford or Seattle, are we fulfilling the promise of Brown, and the idea of an equitable public education? Do the kids in Hartford or Seattle get the same education as a student in Simsbury CT or Mercer Island WA? Is it enough for us to simply say it isn't fair or equitable?