Unfortunately, the District’s overall 4-year high school graduation rate dropped slightly, from 71.5 percent in 2014 to 70.1 percent in 2015. But there is much more to learn from the data broken down by high school than from looking at the average.

In this light, here are three looks at the data:

Not surprisingly, the highest performers last year were six magnet schools:  University High School of Science and Engineering with 97 percent, Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy with 96, Capital Preparatory Magnet School with 95, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy with 92, Classical Magnet School with 91, and Great Path Academy Middle College High School and Pathways Academy of Technology and Design, with 90 percent graduation rates.

What’s more interesting to us is that schools with the highest increases over last year were four neighborhood schools.  And in the case of HPHS Academy of Engineering and Green Technology, the rate went up by 12 percent even with a much larger cohort of students needing to graduate in four years.  Bulkeley’s cohort was 10 percent smaller than last year’s, but its rate actually went down by 1 percent – not a good sign for the largest high school in Hartford.

Comparing Hartford to similar-sized cities, we see that Hartford still trails New Haven but is ahead of Bridgeport and Waterbury.

It also is helpful to look at each school’s performance in 2015 against 2010 (or the first year the school had a graduating class), to understand how far they’ve come.  It’s great to see Culinary Arts and HPHS Law and Government Academy having made so much progress, and it’s understandable that those magnet schools with rates already in the 90s haven’t changed all that much.  Bulkeley will need to be a focus area if we are to reach our goal in Hartford.

Steep Climb.  The District’s strategic operating plan has eight “equity indicators”, or measures of success.  One, regarding the four-year cohort graduation rate (taking into account student progress from Ninth through 12^th Grade), sets the goal that all Hartford high schools hit the 90 percent mark by 2020.  The community at large is going to have to somehow play a much larger role alongside the District if we are going to reach our goal.

Data Source:

 http://edsight.ct.gov/SASPortal/navigate.do?PortalPage=PortalPage%2Bomi%3A%2F%2FMETASERVER.Foundation%

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Inspiration arrives in many forms – and on Wednesday, May 4^th, it came with some 300 attendees who filled four zones across the XL center expo space with descriptions of their inventions, demonstrations of their physical and wellness skills, and exciting arts and STEM activities.  More than that, Hartford school advocates networked far into the night!

The zones showcased creativity in the arts with Hartford Performs; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) demonstrations with the CT Pre-Engineering Program (CPEP); explanations of business ventures by young entrepreneurs with the Pathways Academy of Technology and Design; and health and wellness exhibitions (including some harrowing climbing activities) with CREC, 2-4-1 Sports, Growing Great Schools, and the UConn Neag School of Education.

CEO Stephen Farrell of Presenting Sponsor United Healthcare introduced the program and Ben & Jerry’s Co-founder Jerry Greenfield keynoted it with a statement about how social responsibility can – and should – be at the heart of every business.

Achieve Hartford! is gratified by the extensive Inspire Hartford participation May 4^th.  Without knowing exactly what would happen, we invented a new kind of community fair to celebrate the remarkable work of educators and the resulting achievements by their students.  It was a first for us – and we are already hearing that it should not be the last!

Hartford last Friday was named the Magnet Schools of America (MSA) district of the year for its commitment to equity, excellence, and diversity, as well as to highly sustained support for magnet schools against all odds.

In receiving the MSA honor, Superintendent Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, noting that the District has 20 magnet schools, pledged to continue creating high-quality education options for the residents of Hartford and all students in the region (MSA’s magnet school district of the year award was first given last year, to the Houston Independent School District).

This year, MSA also recognized 11 Hartford schools for their performance: Environmental Sciences Magnet School, Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts, Pathways Academy of Technology and Design, and the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy were honored as Magnet Schools of Excellence.  In addition, the Annie Fisher STEM Magnet, Breakthrough Magnet School I & II, University High School of Science & Engineering, Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy, and Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School garnered awards as Magnet Schools of Distinction.

“I know that our principals continue to be valued contributors and top MSA award winners that bring their knowledge, expertise and experience to enrich our district and they are national thinking partners in magnet school development,” said Executive Director of Choice Enid Rey.

On July 1st, Rey will begin her two-year term on the MSA board of directors, the first HPS staff member to fill that role.

The Bottom Line.  While the State is reportedly attempting to wind down the Sheff case, we recommend that it be mended, not ended.  Expanding choices for Hartford students, making sure seats don’t go unfilled, building stronger connections between neighborhood and magnet schools, and publishing useful data on academic and retention results of Hartford children are just a few of the suggestions we have made to improve perception and reality.

Sheff is the best reform strategy ever put in place for Hartford.  Its remedies should, however, be modernized to achieve its original goal.

This is because its success has been a double-edged sword, serving to highlight the injustice many Hartford families face – having to win a lottery to ensure their child gets an education that meets their standard – and then losing out.  It is our hope that, while we pursue ways to make Sheff work for ever more families and schools, we also do not ignore the lottery losers in our neighborhoods.  Redirecting their resultant animosity into societal energy for Hartford school improvement will be essential to the future of Greater Hartford.