The Christian Activities Council began working with parents and staff from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School (MLK) in Hartford’s North End at the request of parents in April 2016 when parents learned that their children would be relocated to two different schools in two different neighborhoods during school renovation.

MLK has been slated for renovation many times and each time the renovations appeared to be on the verge of beginning, the funds were diverted elsewhere leaving many years of no investment at MLK.  This year it looked as though renovations were really going to happen. The MLK community was told the kids would be split between two schools, in two parts of the city. This was not acceptable given the large number of families who are without a vehicle.

The district responded and assured the MLK community that they would house all 350 students at Achievement First just across the street. That was welcome news to the families and staff, until the space was investigated. It was discovered that the space is completely inadequate for the students.

The space could not hold 350 students. Additionally, the classrooms lack natural light since they are in the basement. There was no PA system to warn of fire, a school lock down, or other emergencies. Pre-K students who are 4 years old would be sharing the hallway and bathrooms with 8th graders.

It is appreciated that finding swing space for 350 students in one location is challenging and parents and teachers would be willing to sacrifice in exchange for a renovated school.

However, renovations were put on hold by Mayor Bronin due to the City’s financial situation.  At that point, the MLK community assumed they would be staying put at MLK but were told that even though there would be no renovations, they still need to move to the basement of Achievement First with all of its inadequacies and no long term plan.

The bottom line is that there is no long term plan for the students. The space is completely inadequate and when pressed for specific reasons as to why MLK students need to be disrupted this year and put in a basement for an indefinite amount of time, the district cited a 2010 facilities report stating the repair needs of the school.

The school is indeed in need of repairs and has been for some time, as well as upgrades in security procedures, but not repairs that warrant an immediate closing of the building.

The issue at hand is why, in the absence of a long term solution and without the promise of renovations, is the district moving 350 kids and their teachers to a basement that is completely inadequate?

The parents and teachers, unanimously, voted to keep the kids at MLK until there was a long term plan in place, hopefully a plan that included the renovation of MLK down the road. After many negotiations with Hartford Public Schools, it became clear that the move to Achievement First was inevitable without a public action.

On June 1, 2016 parents, students, teachers, and community members held a press conference that clearly laid out the injustice being served to these students once again. Coverage of the press conference can be found here.

Two weeks after the press conference, on June 14, parents and CAC organizers had a meeting with Superintendent Narvaez where she announced that the school would remain open, just hours before a town hall meeting was scheduled with Mayor Bronin on the topic of Education in North Hartford.

Here are links to  newspaper coverage of this hard fought campaign: