The Time is Now

In 2003, Mayor Malloy appointed a Blue Ribbon Commission to study the achievement gap that exists in the Stamford public school system, and to make recommendations on how to close it. The achievement gap is the difference in standardized test scores between minorities and whites, and between rich and poor students. While this gap exists in urban areas throughout the country, Connecticut has the worst achievement gap of any state in the nation.

When the Commission was formed, there was a great deal of uncertainty on how to close the gap, and some cynicism as to whether this was a “hopeless cause” – an inevitable consequence of poverty and the growing social ills of crime and addiction that were festering in our low-income neighborhoods. Yet there was a shared commitment among the Commission that the achievement gap must be closed if Stamford was to achieve its potential as a truly great city. That was the genesis of the public-private partnership that is now called STAMFORD ACHIEVES.

Over the past four years, the Board of Directors of Stamford Achieves has spent a great deal of time researching the causes of the achievement gap and seeking solutions. We have examined progress made by urban schools in neighboring states and we have begun to mobilize – implementing programs which have proven successful in similar districts. We have hired Dr. Christine Casey as our interim executive director, who has brought incredible knowledge and energy to the organization. We have met frequently with Superintendent Joshua Starr, who shares our commitment to closing the achievement gap, and we will soon issue a report to the community on progress made and where more help is needed.

Programmatically, we have started “Tutoring Achieves,” which is already making a difference in the reading skills of the 100 students from Davenport and Springdale Schools who received remedial help this summer.. With the state accreditation that was just received, Stamford Achieves will be able expand that program and initiate others in the coming school year to help more students, and to work with parents to help them become more involved with the education of their children.

But we need more involvement – from all sectors of the community - and greater focus on this problem if we are going to make measurable progress in closing the achievement gap. The corporate community and the business associations in Stamford, that has been very supportive of the public school system, will need to do even more. The religious community should make this an important priority in communications with their congregations and in their community youth programs. Our healthcare professionals need to look at the connections between poor health and inferior diets and the readiness of children to learn. PTO’s need to do more to reach out to parents who may have language barriers or other issues that keep them from being a vibrant part of those organizations. And the entire school system - teachers, administrators, and the board of education - need to work together so that the achievement gap remains the number one priority until it is closed.

Finally, more parents need to learn how to become deeply involved and engaged in the education of their children. If they have not received a high school diploma or a college degree, they can resolve that they will be the last generation to not benefit from higher education. The institutions of higher learning, such as UCONN-Stamford and Norwalk Community College, need to reach down to younger children about the advantages and importance of a college education. Both have made excellent starts on this front – but more can and should be done.

Like any other major social problem, closing the gap will require hard work and the courage to deal with thorny issues such as racism, educational motivation, and community apathy. Stamford Achieves is proud of the fact that we helped bring awareness of the achievement gap to the community. Bringing awareness, however, is only the first step and now action must be taken and results must be attained. Now that we know that this issue exists, we all have an obligation to close the achievement gap without delay. As each school year goes by, we are at risk of losing more children if we accept the status quo. The time is now to strengthen our resolve – as one community – to close the achievement gap in Stamford.