When I heard about the case of Tanya McDowell, the homeless mother sent to jail for sending her 5-year-old son to the "wrong" school district, I immediately thought back to the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar not long ago. I wondered how the world has gone mad enough to somehow think that it should be against the law for mothers to find ways to get their children access to a high quality education.
As a result of this homeless single mother having the audacity to get her child into a good school, she is being charged with first-degree theft and also being asked to repay the $15,686 it allegedly cost to educate her child in the Norwalk, Conn. school district. No one cares that this family has no home. No one seems to care about what will happen if this child grows up without the only woman on earth wired to love him unconditionally. No one seems to care about the massive costs to the state of prosecuting this mother and eventually the child, as we deliberately trap them in an intergenerational cycle of poverty and criminal justice. All that seems to matter is that they keep this little boy out of their school.
When we formed our coalition to support Tanya's situation, we were initially confused about the school predicament in Connecticut. If the schools in Ms. McDowell's own district had been adequate in the first place, there would be nothing to prosecute (even though she told me that she lived in a van in Norwalk, making it legal for her to educate her child in that area). So, perhaps local officials should also be prosecuted for unconstitutionally denying Ms. McDowell's child his educational opportunities.
If taking a seat in a public school is worth incarceration and living life as a convicted felon, then stealing a child's mother and his future should certainly call for an even harsher penalty. So, I'd be remiss not to find the Mayor of Norwalk, Richard Moccia, guilty of abducting the infinite value of this child's life by perpetuating academic apartheid in the state of Connecticut.
It's not as if the state of Connecticut can't afford the cost of helping Ms. McDowell find access to a home and an education. Connecticut is the third wealthiest state in the nation, and full of Wall Street billionaires who got rich by creating the greatest economic crisis in our nation's history. The least that the state can do is change the laws that keep loving mothers like Tanya McDowell from having the ability to educate their children. We must find ways to rise above the madness and see educational inequality for the civil rights issue that it is. Throwing away our children and their mothers is not good for America.
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Mother's arrest cause for outrage
Homeless woman's arrest for sending son to Norwalk school stirs debate
In my district, we have our homeless kids too. We know who they are. Some are out of district. We overlook it and give them a "variance".
Our position is that the education and safety of the student is far more important than the technicalities of where that child is living.
We're in the human development profession. When we're dealing with homeless children and teenagers (in my case) the human development part is difficult enough. School is better than home and we the people must see to the problem the best we can.
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/04/homeless-mother-faces-20-years-jail-for-sending-her-son-to-wrong-school/
The lawyer decided to make the state’s attorney aware of what appeared to be a fraud by McDowell. "Someone was lying," Lattarulo told the Stamford Advocate. "I thought I should pass it on to the authorities."
There is some dispute as to whether McDowell ever told school officials that she was homeless, which would have allowed her son to stay in the Norwalk school, the Times says."
Nicole, the facts are the facts. I have personally assisted two families connect with social services that were homeless. The services are there, all you have to do is utilize them the right way. The District is set for a certain # of students every year, and then 50 or 60 more show up who are playing the same game this woman tried to play. And again, she did this with no regard for her child. And she continues to parade around to talk shows and interviews, what about the child? I would have called DCF before it even came to this. The facts will cushion my fall of the horse, Nicole,as will the tax dollars the city saved me from paying for this woman and her poor decision.
nytimes article September 18, 2005
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-prosecution-of-homeless-woman-tonya-mcdowell-for-sending-son-to-wrong-school-in-norwalk-ct
Imagine what would happen to the quality of nearby schools if even half of the students from a large, urban district just showed up one day. Not only would the classrooms be unable to handle such a large influx, but the quality of education would decline as hoards of underachieving kids showed up ill prepared and poised to slow down the students who were already there.
The sad truth is that the quality of a school is more often than not a reflection of the community it serves--the very reason why almost every "low-quality school" is located in a community full of people living in generational poverty.
If I was a parent in a nearby suburban community that has great schools, the last thing I'd want is for hoards of students multiple grade-levels behind to show up in my kids' classrooms.
As someone who's worked in one of this country's worst urban districts, I feel that the mother should either (1) move elsewhere or (2) start advocating for the positive change that needs to happen for her district to improve.
. But you are welcome to ask her to move in with you so her child can go to school in your district.
That people that attack this woman is not shocking to me, but that they attack when they would be surprised at how many people that they related to, aqainted with and respect do the very same thing that this woman did. Had it been one their friends, cronies or loved ones I have no doubt what so ever that their point of view would be one of compassion.
The mayor should be ashamed and looking for other more suitable employment for these antics, as he is not really suited for public service. The administrators that were a party to this should also be seeking other employment for the humiliation that they have caused this child. I wonder has any one even considered how he must feel? He certainly does not understand why mom is in trouble or why he can't be at school with his friends. His life ultimately has no value. Had she killed him and herself because of the hopelessness of their situation, would people have been happy with that solution?
Would you please provide some support for this assertion?
You made a similar claim in response to a comment of mine, and you even wrote that school officials were aware of such people and yet do nothing. I would be very interested to know where you get these claims from, because (I admit) I view them with a great degree of skepticism. If the school officials in Norwalk had done so, they would be exposing themselves (and the State of Connecticut, for that matter) to civil liability for racial discrimination in a lawsuit filed by Ms. McDowell.
We’ve got OUR Schools.
This will teach you to stay on YOUR side of the train tracks.
but its days are numbered
The debate about this woman is largely about whether the end justifies the means. If she had robbed a bank because she needed the money to live in the best school district, would that have been justifiable? No, it would have been understandable, but it still would have been wrong.
HOW can it be in that little boy's best interest to break up the only family he has - someone who deeply and honestly loves him - and put him into foster care?
In this case, the state is far more interested in monetary "restitution" and faux "justice" than human life and preserving the family.
Karma awaits, Connecticut.
~ Honore de Balzac
~ Anatole France
These are quotes to save on the hard disk.