Today is the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in the schools. Below are excerpts from prepared remarks that State Education Commissioner John King delivered this week to mark the occasion.
Why are we silent when just 58 percent of African-American and Latino students graduate from high school compared to 86 percent of white students? Why are we silent when just 15 percent of African-American and Latino students graduate from high school in New York state ready to do college-level coursework, compared to nearly 50 percent of white students?
And why are we silent when a majority of students from wealthy families graduate from college, but less than 10 percent of students from poor families do?
I want us all to ponder that question — as we come together today to celebrate an idea that is at the center of everything that America stands for.
This idea inspired Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. It inspired exceptional people like Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Mae Jemison, Justice Sotomayor and President Barack Obama to break through barriers and do things that people of color had never done before.
This idea is equality. Equality is central to our identity as Americans. It’s made our country a place where people of every race and color and religion and background could maximize their talents and contribute. But for all its power as an idea, equality remains elusive for far too many people of color. None of us can fully escape the seeping sense of unfairness that conflicts with the fundamental values of our society.
Almost every person of color has felt the sting of discrimination at some point. We have all developed ways to cope with it. But sometimes, inspired by the examples of generations of freedom fighters, we get organized and we change things for the better.
That’s what happened 63 years ago when Oliver Brown, a humble welder and local church leader in Topeka, Kan., filed a lawsuit so that his third-grade daughter Linda could attend an all-white school just seven blocks from her home — rather than an all-black school more than a mile away.
He just wanted equality for his daughter. And when Brown v. Board of Education finally got to the Supreme Court — in 1954 — all nine justices agreed.
In the decision, the Supreme Court made clear that, for all of the injustices in the world, some of which may be beyond our power to correct, there was one institution that was different, one place where the promise of equality should and could actually come to pass. That was the school.
Those of us who work in education shared that dream and believed we could make a difference in the lives of children.
Indeed, I became a teacher because a teacher saved my life. My mother passed away in October of my fourth-grade year. At the time, I was in Mr. Osterweil’s classroom at PS 276 in Canarsie, Brooklyn. I lived at home alone, with my father, who was then suffering from undiagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. As his condition deteriorated and he ultimately passed away when I was 12, I never knew from one night to the next what home would be like.
For all the scariness and life outside of school, in the classroom I was engaged
But for all the scariness and pain in life outside of school, in Mr. Osterweil’s classroom I was engaged and challenged and nurtured. Mr. Osterweil created this amazing safe space. I discovered the joy of learning.
I know school can be the difference between hope and despair because it was for me.
But for all of our efforts today — 60 years after the Supreme Court said that segregated schools were inherently unequal — we remain a society with grossly unequal schools and tragically unequal outcomes. I mentioned the disparity in graduation and college-completion rates.
When you look at test scores it’s just as stark: in every grade and subject, the percentage of students of color performing at grade level is about half that of white students.
The facts are plain: America spends less to educate poor children than wealthy children. Fewer poor children have access to high quality pre-school. Poor children are often assigned to less effective teachers and have fewer resources in their schools.
By every single measure — whether it is classroom grades or test scores, or high school and college graduation rates, our children of poverty and children of color are further behind.
The classroom was supposed to be sacred, a protected haven where children would be given the tools to succeed in equal measure. And with each decade, the effort to bring about equality through the classroom takes new form.
The nation required states and districts to prove with a common assessment that all kids are meeting standards and to publish data by race, income and other factors — so we know how the performance of children of poverty compares with that of children of wealth.
We created charter schools, some of which are defying the odds and outperforming some of our wealthiest schools in the state.
In 2010, here in New York, we committed to require schools to meet high standards. And today there is even more we can do, concrete steps we can take in New York, to better realize the promise of Brown.
But none of this will pay off if we don’t teach to high standards and hold ourselves accountable. And lately there’s been a troubling backlash to those foundational policies.
You’ve seen it in the media and in the political arena. You’ve seen it in schools and communities across the state where some parents, some educators, some union leaders and some politicians say the standards are too high.
Now, I fully appreciate how difficult change can be. Like all new initiatives, our policies are imperfect and need continuous reflection and adjustment. I know that the transition to higher standards has not gone smoothly everywhere.
But it’s also an exaggeration to say that it puts too much pressure on the system.
The fact is, as of today, four full years after New York state adopted higher standards, not a single teacher or principal has been replaced under the new evaluation law, and few, if any, will face any consequences for at least another year. And even then, it will be a very small percentage.
As we continue to move forward and improve, let’s also remember why we set high standards and why we have assessments and accountability.
We do it for one reason: our children and the reality that education is their best shot at success in the 21st century.
This is especially true for our low-income children of color. They don’t have inherited wealth. They don’t have connections. They have education. That’s it. Nothing else.
And if we don’t hold ourselves accountable, and if we don’t demand transparency around student growth, and if we don’t challenge ourselves to give our kids the very best education possible, children of color and low-income children will be the first to lose.
Too many of the voices attacking the Common Core have done so with false narratives about the motives and intentions of education reform.
This isn’t about privatization or federal curriculum or enriching testing companies. This is about taking responsibility for educating every single child no matter what his or her race, background or economic status.
Now is the time for all of us, people of every race and background, to come together and remember the promise of Brown, remember the promise of equality, and remember the promise we have all made to our children.