A parent of a magnet school student sent this letter to Commissioner Wentzell last week and shared it with Parents for Batchelder. She explains her views on the Hartford Board of Education’s proposed closure of Batchelder School and giving away the building to Montessori Magnet, as well as the State’s delay on our complaint to stop the illegal school closure.

We include her letter here with her child’s gender identity and school name removed. Thank you for your support, Anna Shusterman, Ph.D.!

Dear Dr. Wentzell,

I am writing with concern about the proposed plan to close Batchelder School. I am a West Hartford resident with a keen interest in Hartford Public Schools because my child (gender removed) is a magnet student at (school named removed).

I love being part of the magnet system because I deeply value the experience of a diverse student body, the goal of racial and economic school integration, and equal allocation of resources for all students. I see participating in the magnet system as a small individual step toward that goal. But I am very concerned about the ways that the presence of the magnet system illogically causes children who live in Hartford to be disenfranchised from quality educational opportunities. For example, when Hartford residents are shut out from lottery seats at excellent magnet schools that the families would like access to, I feel frustrated that my West Hartford address once again gets me access to educational privilege when Hartford residents are shut out from wonderful opportunities within Hartford Public Schools. The point of the magnet system is to improve educational opportunities for people who were receiving sub-par opportunities, not to increase the wealth of options for suburban families. The system is deeply unfair, and it is everybody’s obligation to make it better. As Commissioner, this is your obligation most of all.

The current situation with the proposed closing of Batchelder School in Hartford is disgraceful. Children and families in Hartford Public Schools should have absolute priority for buildings and resources used for public education in Hartford. The fact that the Hartford BOE and the CT SDE are both working against parents who want to keep the school open is unreasonable, and it is also unreasonable to use not-yet-enacted legislation as an excuse to delay adequate resolution of the problems. As a magnet parent in HPS, I am disgusted by the thought that the Montessori magnet school in Hartford is receiving better treatment, and preferential access to a school building, than Batchelder, a neighborhood public school.

The chaos caused by thoughtless, disrespectful, and short-sighted decisions is putting unnecessary stress on families and creating unnecessary ruptures in the fabric of the Batchelder school community. Children need continuity in their education and they need to know that their school will be in place next year. It is wrong to create this level of stress, chaos, and rupture for any students, but especially for elementary school students in a well-loved neighborhood public school in Hartford. Furthermore, it appears that the students would be not only split from each other and splintered from their community, but steered toward more racially and economically isolated schools. Therefore, as far as I can see, there are many downsides and no upsides for the Batchelder community if this plan goes through.

School closure is a weapon disproportionately wielded against less-privileged communities. I am here to tell you that we are all one community. As a member of this community I will not quietly accept a decision that treats the students and families of one school so poorly.

I stand with the Batchelder parents and community who are fighting this proposal and who are advocating for much better treatment from the city and the state education administrators. Many of us are affected by decisions regarding Hartford Public Schools, because actions that affect one school have ripple affects that percolate through the whole system. We are watching your actions and responses closely. I encourage you to do the right thing and keep Batchelder open.

Sincerely,

Anna Shusterman, PhD

West Hartford resident & (magnet school name removed) parent