Rockville High School Senior Diary: Teacher Walk-In

Thursday’s segment of the national teacher “walk-in” at Rockville High School was “designed to support equal funding for all students,” the head of the local teachers union said.

Approximately 120 faculty members, students, and others from the Vernon community all took part in the national “Walk In” funded by the National Education Association.

Vernon Education Association President Peter Borofsky spoke out on the goals of the demonstration, leading with that it is a “simple but complex message” that educators want to get across to the government. A lack of transparent funding has lead to the unequal distribution of money to many schools across the country, he said.

Starting back in November, 2005, the state and government have been challenged for their "broken" education system, educators said. The Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding (CCJEF) brought the case, CCJEF v. Rell, to bring light to the issue of students and schools that were unconstitutionally receiving less money than other communities, they said.

According to the CCJEF official website, “The CCJEF v. Rell complaint alleges that the state’s failure to suitably and equitably fund its public schools has irreparably harmed thousands of Connecticut schoolchildren by limiting their future ability to take full advantage of the nation’s democratic processes and institutions, to secure meaningful employment in the competitive high-skills/high-wage global marketplace, and to successfully continue their education beyond high school.”

Borofsky stated that, “We have two very distinct goals in mind. We want to demonstrate that the Vernon community values its education and the equity of funding. We also want to begin a discussion on how to approach the next step.”

The next step being whether or not the state will provide to the schools what they feel to be equal from their perspective, he said.

If granted the money, “We would like an advancement in technology. We do not have a lot to work with like some schools that were just built three years ago.” Borofsky stated as he pointed around his classroom to out-dated laptops that were all plugged into outlets. There were wires running all across the room to keep the laptops plugged in because they could not hold a charge.

A real first world problem, but in our world, and with the value of education in mind, it is a problem that needs to be addressed in order for our students to get the quality learning experience that they are entitled to.

Chelsea Chatterton, a senior at Rockville High School, kicked off the occasion with the pledge of allegiance. Following her, Joyce Hida, also a senior at RHS, spoke of her educational experience at RHS.

“You see, education at Rockville is a conversation,” Hida began, “A conversation full of inquiry, curiosity, humor, and content.” Hida spoke of her many conversations with teachers and faculty members, not only in the classroom setting where “[she] has been challenged and told, ‘yes, now I want to hear more’,” from her teachers and advisors, but also in a casual manner.

Hida pointed out the most important part of a conversation is showing true interest in the person who is speaking. “This is where Rockville excels.” Hida said, as she talked about how her friends joke with her about how close she is with her teachers. “Whenever I have to quickly stop by a teacher’s room in the morning, I normally get stuck in conversation until the first bell rings.” Hida said.

Rockville, holistically, supports equal education through all of its programs that is has to offer, some of which Hida pointed out such as the Vocational Agriculture program, their award-winning Creative Writing program, the German American Partnership Program, and many more. But with more funding from the government, Rockville would be able to offer its students much more.

Town Council member Michael Winkler stated that in the year 2000, the shared budget between the state of Connecticut and the Vernon Board of Education was 44 percent. The 2017 estimated budget will be just more than 34 percent. A 21 percent decrease. “That represents $8 million that the Vernon taxpayers are paying that should be being paid by the state of Connecticut.” Winkler added.

“Rockville High School is not the only school that is not being granted equal funding.” said Borofsky.

Thousands of schools across the country participated in the Walk-In “to guarantee that we have schools that each and every student deserve,” Sheila Cohen, Presdient of the Connecticut Education Association said.

If granted the money, Cohen hopes to instill universal preschools, guarantee smaller class sizes, and close the opportunity gap between students and schools. “Equality is not synonymous with equity.” Cohen said.

And if all of that is not reason enough to bring our community together for a good cause, then just know that there were free coffee and donuts being served.

Photo Credit: Emily Harrison

Emily Harrison's senior diary is a feature of the Rockville High School creative writing program. She will be filing regular installments throughout the 2016-17 school year.