Two Greenwich Schools Cited for Racial Imbalance

GREENWICH, Conn. – Two Greenwich schools have once again been cited by the State Board of Education as racially imbalanced, and four additional schools are considered “impending.”

According to Connecticut law, a school has a racial imbalance when the proportion of its minority students is 25 percent above the district average. Of the state’s 1,271 schools, eight were cited this year, including Greenwich's Hamilton Avenue and New Lebanon schools, according to the Racial Imbalance Report submitted to the Connecticut State Board of Education at its meeting in Hartford on Thursday night.



The district average of minority students in Greenwich is 32.79 percent, according to the state. There are 4,282 students in the district. Of Hamilton Avenue School’s population of 412 students, 60.92 percent are minorities. Of New Lebanon School’s population of 261 students, 67.43 percent are minorities.



The state also reported that four Greenwich schools, of 31 in the state, are impending an imbalance. This means that the proportion of minority students in a school is less than 25 percent, but more than 15 percent above the district average. In Greenwich, Western Middle School, Parkway School, Old Greenwich School and Julian Curtiss School were all notified.



The Board of Education is required to submit a plan to address the issue within 60 days of notification. The plan must include “any proposed changes in existing school attendance districts, the location of proposed school building sites” and “any proposed additions to existing school buildings” or other ways to correct the imbalance.



Hamilton Avenue and New Lebanon were both previously identified as racially imbalanced. The Greenwich Board of Education submitted an amendment to its plan, which was approved by the state board Sept. 1 2010. Since an imbalance persists, the board is asking Greenwich once again to amend its plan.