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• Created By • Preface: We designed this interactive search tool to help parents and guardians navigate through the many public school choices arising from two sources: the Sheff v. O'Neill regional school desegregation remedy and the Hartford Public Schools' all-choice initiative. SmartChoices is an independent project, not affiliated with any school, district, or choice program. Data are obtained from public sources and may be subject to change. Contact individual schools or programs to confirm details. • Credits • This website is a collaboration between academics and advocates for urban school reform at Trinity College, ConnCAN, and Achieve Hartford: Cities, Suburbs, and Schools project at Trinity College: Professor Jack Dougherty, Jesse Wanzer '08, Devlin Hughes '09, Christina Seda '09, Nick Bacon '10 Academic Computing, Trinity College: Jean-Pierre Haeberly, David Tatem Social Sciences Data Coordinator, Trinity College: Rachael Barlow Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN): Marc Porter Magee, Tori Truscheit, Lourdes Fonseca, Ron Jarrett, Karen Rutzick Achieve Hartford: Jim Starr, Executive Director; Paul Holzer, Director of Education Programs; Pat Salner; Director of Community Programs; Deb Bickman, Program Associate; Begaeta Nukic, Intern // house 9 design |
Contact uswith questions, comments, and corrections at smartchoices@trincoll.eduFrequently Asked QuestionsWhy did you create SmartChoices? How did you create this website? (How to obtain our free open-source software and map files) What is a District school? What is an Interdistrict school? Is transportation provided to these schools? What region does SmartChoices currently cover? How is Distance between schools and home addresses calculated? What is the source of Racial Balance data? Why is it missing for some schools? What is the source of Test Goal and Test Gain data, and how are they calculated? Why are Test Goal and Test Gain missing for some schools? What is the difference between "Open Choice," "Project Choice," and "Hartford Choice"? Which districts participate in Open Choice? Which interdistrict schools are not listed by the Regional School Choice Office? What is the difference between intra-district versus inter-district magnet schools? Why are no private or parochial schools listed? What other resources are available to learn more about public school choice in Connecticut?
Why did you create SmartChoices? Families in the Greater Hartford region face a growing number of public school choices, rising from the Sheff v. O'Neill regional school desegregation remedy and the Hartford Public School's all-choice initiative. City and suburban residents need user-friendly, comprehensive information about their options in order for public school choice to achieve its dual goals: racial integration and increased quality through competition. By itself, a website cannot eliminate structural inequalities or the "digital divide." But we created this Internet tool with the goal of improving access to educational opportunities for all families in metropolitan Hartford. How did you create this website? (How to obtain our free open-source software and map files) In Fall 2008, our design team created SmartChoices according to leading Web 2.0 design principles, based on programming by Jean-Pierre Haeberly, Director of Academic Computing at Trinity College. We updated the site's features in Fall 2009. SmartChoices exists on a three-tier server architecture, which integrates the web server (search page & interactive Google map) with the application and database servers. Asynchronous requests are what permit the user to initiate a search and view the results without having to reload the page, as in a traditional form-based website. To encourage other regions to create similar websites, we are distributing SmartChoices code as free, open-source software upon request (smartchoices@trincoll.edu). Recipients assume all responsibility for implementing and modifying the code to suit their local needs, as SmartChoices does not offer free technical support. Our team also compiled and/or digitized school attendance boundaries for Hartford and surrounding suburban districts. The GIS shapefiles and KML files of these boundaries will be made publicly available in the near future through MAGIC, the Map and Geographic Information Center at the University of Connecticut. What is a District school? What is an Interdistrict school? For simplicity, we have defined two types of public schools:
Read more in Public School Choice in Connecticut: A Guide for Families and Students (2009-10) at (http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2681&Q=320466) Is transportation provided to these schools? The answer depends upon the type of school and the student's home address. Free transportation is provided for eligible students who enroll in one of the following interdistrict schools or programs listed by the Regional School Choice Office:
See more details at (http://www.magneteducation.org/resources/transportation.php). Although charter schools operate similarly to interdistrict programs, they do not provide interdistrict transportation. According to the CSDE, Public School Choice in Connecticut (2009-10): "The local or regional board of education where the charter school is located must provide transportation for students attending the charter school who live in the district. Parents of students who live out of the district where the charter is located may need to provide transportation for their child if the charter school does not" (p. 2). See more at (http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2681&Q=320466) For other interdistrict schools and programs not listed by RSCO, contact the individual school for details. In the Hartford Public School district, see transportation guidelines (http://www.hartfordschools.org/resources-you-need/transportation.php). For suburban public school districts, contact the individual school or district office for details. What region does SmartChoices currently cover? At present, SmartChoices covers Hartford and 18 suburban public school districts, as shown in the map below. (In this image, the red lines indicate each district's attendance zones for Grade 1.) Our plan to expand the database to include more districts over time.
How is the Distance between schools and home addresses calculated? We calculate a "straight line" distance between two points (the school address and the home address), using their latitude and longitude coordinates, to offer parents a simple and uniform system of measurement. Our method is not the same as walking or driving distance, nor bus routes, which all follow longer pathways. What is the source of the Racial Balance data? Why is it missing for some schools? We obtained the most recent available school racial data (collected in October 2008) from the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). Our goal was to represent this data as an easy-to-read pie chart. Data values were omitted from the chart to reduce clutter. We combined Asian and Native American percentages into one category to formulate a 4-color chart, as these were usually the two smallest groups. When sorting by Racial Balance, SmartChoices lists the school that is closest to having a 50/50 White-Minority student enrollment at the top, then others in descending order. This indicator should not be confused with the 2008 Sheff desegregation standard, which defines a "reduced-isolation" school as not exceeding 75% students of color. Racial data may be unavailable if a new school opened in Fall 2009, or is scheduled to open in Fall 2010, or was not reported by CSDE. For Open Choice, racial data is based on the average of Hartford and the 28 participating district total enrollments (not individual students or schools in the Open Choice program).
What is the source of Test Goal and Test Gain data, and how are they calculated? Test data on this site was compiled from two sources: Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) for grades 3 to 8, and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) for grade 10, which are both available at (http://www.ctreports.com). For each grade level, we averaged the percentage of students who scored at or above goal level across different tests: read, writing, mathematics (and science, for grades 5, 8, and 10). Test Goal shows the percentage of students scoring at/above goal for the final grade level in each school. For example, if a school includes grades PreK-6, then the 6th grade scores were used for our Test Goal calculation. In each bar chart, a dashed line represents the average Connecticut score, which in 2009 was approximately 65% (for the CMT) and 48% (for the CAPT). Test Gain shows the percentage point difference in scores over the past year. We averaged the change between 3rd grade students in 2008 and 4th grade students in 2009, and between 4th grade students in 2008 and 5th grade students in 2009, and so forth using all CMT scores available for each school. A positive sign (green arrow) shows a percentage point increase over one year, while a negative sign (red arrow) shows a decrease. A zero symbol means no change.
For Open Choice, test data is based on the average of Hartford and the 28 participating district scores (not individual students or schools in the Open Choice program). SmartChoices indicators are similar, but not identical to, the methodology used by ConnCAN. Neither Test Goal nor Test Gain are perfect measures of school quality. For instance, a school may have a high Test Goal because it enrolled students who already scored well on standardized tests, regardless of the quality of instruction. Test Gain offers a better way to compare the relative gains of students in different schools, but it also has limitations. First, Test Gain assumes continuity in school's student population from year to year, while in practice, last year's cohort of 3rd grade students is not identical to this year's cohort of 4th grade students. Higher rates of student mobility reduce the effectiveness of this measure. Second, small differences between how CMT cut-off scores are measured between years may affect the percentages of students at goal each year. Finally, while Test Gain resembles a value-added indicator, our simple formulation should not be used to attribute all gains or losses solely to the school. Nevertheless, given the constraints of publicly-available test score data in Connecticut, we disseminate both Test Goal and Test Gain because together, they offer the best parent-friendly indicators to judge the relative merits of student achievement across public schools. Why are Test Goal and Test Gain missing for some schools? Test data may be unavailable for various reasons:
Test Gain figures are not available for most secondary schools, because this measure relies on year-to-year cohort changes, and there is no CAPT equivalent for the 9th or 11-12th grades. The Regional School Choice Office (RSCO) "provides information and support to parents and students who wish to play an active role in selecting which school will best meet their individual educational needs. The four Regional Choice Programs that are available to families in the greater Hartford area are Interdistrict Magnet Schools, Technical Schools, Vocational Agriculture Centers, and the Open Choice Program.” (http://www.magneteducation.org). The Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) is a Regional Educational Service Center for 35 public school districts in the Greater Hartford area. It manages several interdistrict magnet schools and the Open Choice program for Hartford and suburban towns. "Since 1966, CREC, working with and for its member districts, has developed a wide array of cost-effective and high-quality programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and adults in the Capitol Region.” (http://www.crec.org). What is the difference between the Regional School Choice Office (RSCO) and the Hartford Choice Office? The RSCO handles applications for most (but not all) interdistrict schools and programs (such as magnets, charters, Open Choice, technical schools, and regional vocational-agricultural centers). See more at (http://www.magneteducation.org). The Hartford Choice Office (also known as the HPS Office of Admissions) handles applications for the Hartford Public School district's "all-choice" initiative. See more at (http://www.hartfordschools.org/about-your-choice/) Parents may submit an application to BOTH the RSCO and the Hartford Choice office. What is the difference between “Open Choice,” "Project Choice," and “Hartford Choice”? Similar names for different “choice” programs sometimes confuse parents. Here is the difference: Open Choice (also known as “Project Choice"): The Open Choice program “allows urban students to attend public schools in nearby suburban towns and suburban students to attend public schools in a nearby urban center” (http://www.magneteducation.org/open-choice/what-is.php). Hartford Choice: The Hartford Public School's "all-choice" initiative requires that city students in “transitional grades” (the last grade in their school) submit applications for their preferred HPS district school. Also, students who are not in transitional grades have the option to submit an HPS choice application, if desired. (http://www.hartfordschools.org/about-your-choice). Which districts participate in Open Choice? According to the Open Choice Program, the Hartford Public Schools and 28 other districts are currently participating in this city-suburban desegregation transfer program. See map below.
Which interdistrict schools are not listed by the Regional School Choice Office (RSCO)? Although the RSCO handles applications for most interdistrict schools in the Greater Hartford region, several are not listed by RSCO, but are included in our SmartChoices database:
Families who wish to apply must contact the individual school. What is the difference between intra-district versus inter-district magnet schools? The phrases "intra-district" and "inter-district" are commonly confused. An intra-district magnet only enrolls students who live inside the local school district. A small number of intra-district magnets exist in the Greater Hartford region, such as the Charter Oak Academy of Global Studies and the Florence E. Smith School of Science, Math, and Technology, which both accept applications from students who reside in any West Hartford neighborhood. An inter-district magnet is open to students from different school districts. Since the vast majority of magnets in Greater Hartford are "interdistrict" schools, we usually omit this term when discussing magnets. Why are no private or parochial schools listed? Since private and parochial schools do not offer CMT or CAPT exams, and do not report racial data in the same way as public schools, there is no basis for comparison in our database. What other resources are available to learn more about public school choice in Connecticut? Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN): “a statewide outreach, education, and research organization with an active member network of parents, teachers, students, and business and community leaders across Connecticut." The Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Project at Trinity College: an academic research and outreach project that seeks to understand how public school politics and private housing markets have shaped the metropolitan Hartford region over time Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Choice Programs, especially Public School Choice in Connecticut: A Guide for Families and Students (2009-10) The Sheff Movement: "We are parents, citizens, educators and others who care about civil rights and education. We work to educate the public and increase support for quality education for all children and proven voluntary integration measures." Regional School Choice Office (RSCO) Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) |
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