Desegregation related grants

Collection

Identifier: 0450.004

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Desegregation related Grants Collection is arranged into 8 series: I. Chapter 636; II. Management Information Services Evaluation Reports; III. Office of Planning and Policy; IV. O'Connor, Thomas Evaluation Specialist; V. Gorham, Thomas Office of Chapter 636 Evaluation Specialist; VI. Hunt, Martin University Liaison, Chapter 636; VII. Horoschak, Peter Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent; and VIII. McCabe, Robert Assistant to the Deputy Superintendent.

The Chapter 636 series is 2 cubic feet and dates from 1975 to 1985. It primarily contains reports on the school university pairings funded by chapter 636 of the Racial Imbalance Law and mandated by the federal court Judge William Garrity during court ordered desegregation. This series contains materials from both the Office of Policy and Planning and Management of Information Services though the originating office was not able to be determined. The series also contains program proposals for funding. The Chapter 636 series retains its original organization.

The Management Information Services series is 3 cubic feet and dates from 1973 to 1981. The series contains evaluation reports of programs funded under both Chapter 636 and ESAA. MIS was responsible during this time for the evaluation of all programs funded by both grants. The reports are arranged alphabetically by program names.

The Office of Policy and Planning series is 4 cubic feet and dates from 1961-1982. The Office of Policy and Planning was responsible for the administration of Chapter 636, ESAA and ESEA programs and funds. The largest portion of records are Chapter 636 proposal reviews, approximately 2.5 cubic feet, for the fiscal year 1980-1981. These files are arranged by District. The remaining folders pertain primarily to the ESAA and ESEA funded programs, Evaluation, Morgan v. Kerrigan Federal Court Orders, and the Parent Program Evaluators. These folders are arranged alphabetically by their original folder titles.

The O'Connor, Thomas Evaluation Specialist series is 5 cubic feet and dates from 1967-1980. Thomas O'Connor, as the Evaluation Specialist, was responsible for overseeing the evaluation of programs funded under the ESAA and existed first within the MIS and then in the OPP. Approximately 2 cubic feet of recordsare files, by program, pertaining to the evaluation of ESAA funded programs. One cubic foot of files are Research Proposals and Requests. The original order of the folders was generally maintained.

The Gorham, Thomas Office of Chapter 636 Evaluation Specialist series is 1 cubic foot and dates from 1979-1980. It contains evaluation files of Chapter 636 funded programs in District 3.

The Hunt, Martin University Liaison series is 2 cubic feet and dates from 1975-1976. As the University Liaison Martin Hunt oversaw the school university pairings funded by Chapter 636. A large portion of the records are proposal files and contracts. These files are arranged alphabetically.

The Horoschak, Peter Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent series is 5 cubic feet and dates from 1969-1986. The series contains materials on a variety of subjects including Chapter 636, ESAA, ESEA, the BPS Office of Bilingual Programs Parent Specialist, Ford foundation Funds, a Management Study of the Central Administration, the Metroploitan Planning Project Fund, and Vocational Education Grants. These folders were arranged alphabetically by folder title.

The McCabe, Robert Assistant to the Deputy Superintendent series is 1 cubic foot and dates from 1966-1977. It contains materials primarily pertaining to ESAA and ESEA, particularly early documents related to the federal passage of the ESAA. Also contained are folders of materials from the Impacted Schools Information Service and the National Defense Education Act. These folders are arranged Alphabetically.

Dates

1967-1986 (bulk, 1972-1981)

Creator

Boston Public Schools (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Some records within this collection are restricted as mandated by FERPA guidelines and the Public Records Law (MGL C.4, s. 7, cl.26). Contact archivist for further information.

Historical note

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) provided the first comprehensive federal funding for schools in the United States. ESEA’s aim was to provide resources for educationally disadvantaged students to be provided with a quality public education. The act funded such ground breaking education programs as Head Start and Bilingual Education. The ESEA was originally organized into 6 Titles. Title I provided funding for educating educationally disadvantaged students. Title II provided money for Library and Audio-Visual Materials. Title III provided funding for programs targeting students who were at risk of failure. Title IV funded research by colleges and universities on education. Title V funded state departments of education. Finally Title VI contains the laws general provisions. In 1968 the act was amended to include Title VII, the Bilingual Education Act.

The Emergency School Aid Act was passed in 1971 in order to “(a) meet the special needs incident to the elimination of racial segregation and discrimination among students and faculty in elementary and secondary schools, and (b) to encourage the voluntary elimination, reduction, or prevention of racial isolation in elementary an secondary schools with substantial proportions of minority group students.” The act was made up of 5 areas: The Basic Grant, Pilot Projects, Special Projects, Special Compensatory Projects, and Bilingual Extension. The grant also included funding for the evaluation of the programs. The grants funded a variety of components including, Instructional Support Teams; Community and Student Affairs, which included funding for parent involvement; Minigrants for teachers; and Teacher Training.

Chapter 636 was a 1974 amendment to the Massachusetts Racial Imbalance Law. Grants provided funding, administered by the Bureau of Equal Educational Opportunity of the State Dept. of Education, “for projects whose primary purposes are to improve the quality of education and reduce minority isolation.” Chapter 636 monies were used for staff training, programs of instruction and support, funding University and Cultural Institution pairings with schools, and eventually independent proposals developed by teachers, administrators and parents.

The Boston Public School Department devoted much time and resources to the administration of these grants and the programs they funded. ESEA, ESAA, and Chapter 636 programs were administered each from separate offices. In the mid 1970’s the administrative duties shifted to the Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) and the evaluations of programs funded by these grants was performed by Management Information Services (MIS), the Evaluation Specialists, and subcontracted out to independent firms.

Extent

23 Cubic feet

Language of Materials

English

Subjects

Discrimination in education Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
School integration Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings