‘Community Conversations’ spark dialogue on equity in public schools

Several people gathered in Wilmington on Wednesday night for 'Community Conversations' at the Harrelson Center.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Several people gathered in Wilmington on Wednesday night for ‘Community Conversations’ at the Harrelson Center.

The event was hosted by community advocate Rebecca Trammel. The goal of the ‘Community Conversations: Beyond Sound and Basic’ event was to educate people on the Leandro Plan and get New Hanover County involved in a nationwide education study.

“Some kids are starting at the 50 yard line and some kids are being left way behind,” Trammel said. “If people knew about Leandro and if the Leandro Plan was actually funded the differences, the achievement gap and the opportunity disparities, that could be solved.”

The Leandro Plan is a policy and funding outline that aims to eliminate inequity and funding deficiencies in the public school system. It’s based on the state supreme court ruling that guarantees every child in North Carolina “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education” based on the state constitution.

“The constitutional requirement…that in itself is a compromise. Parents, students, community members, we need and we deserve high quality. We deserve excellence and we deserve equity,” North Carolina Justice Center Senior Policy Advocate and Every Child NC Coalition Co-chair Sarah Montgomery said.

Advocates like Montgomery will be in Raleigh next month ahead of the supreme court hearing additional arguments in the long-running case. The oral arguments will start the week of August 29. On Saturday the 27th, Montgomery says their events will kick-off with a celebration of “what is possible when we invest in children.”

In addition to learning about Leandro, attendees at Wednesday night’s event took part in the “Price of Opportunity” study being conducted by the National Education Policy Center. Researchers Kathryn Wiley and Tatianna Grant have ventured all across North Carolina to gather information on what a “great equalizer” of opportunity would be for students.

“This project is a part of a national project we’re doing. We’ve done the same work in Colorado and soon in Michigan. We’re trying to look at each state, how local stakeholders feel in each state about what they envision for their public education system and being mindful of regional differences,” Wiley said.

Their research takes leveling the playing field with Leandro a step further. After looking into what it would take to equalize opportunity, they find what dollar amount it would take to get there.

“We don’t think adequate is enough. We want students to be great. We want to give them opportunities to go out and thrive in the world,” Grant said.

For more information on the Leandro Plan, visit here.