How Tonya and Kelley differ

 Posted by Daniela Fairchild on April 20, 2011 at 1:03 pm

Kelley Williams-Bolar made national headlines back in January when she was caught sending her two daughters across district lines from the woeful Akron Public Schools to the plusher Copley-Fairlawn School District. In the name of her cause, pitchforks were raised, battle trumpets were sounded, and petitions were signed—no fewer than eight “Save Kelley” Facebook pages were created.

And the same predictable tempest has already begun to brew around the case of Tonya McDowell, a Connecticut mother now fined over $15,000 for sending her son to a neighboring, out-of-bounds school district. Probably rightfully so. Both cases offer school-choice advocates clear examples of students and parents hurt by onerous and antiquated districting systems. They both offer a Rosa Parks-like poster child to prove how decent people are being hurt. Williams-Bolar was a student-teacher, working to become licensed in Ohio educator, clearly dedicated to K-12 education. And McDowell is homeless.

Where they diverge, and what is most interesting about McDowell’s situation, is in the last word of the previous sentence: homeless.

Per the McKinney-Vento Act (really, it’s just 185 pages of NCLB), homeless students must be allowed access to their “school of origin for the duration of their homelessness.” Details about McDowell’s situation have yet to surface, but out of the fog we learn a few key facts: McDowell and her son are homeless, splitting their time between a homeless shelter and a friend’s apartment in Bridgeport, CT. To attain access to the Norwalk Public Schools, McDowell used her babysitter’s address—an apartment in a housing project in Norwalk. It’s still unclear where the boy’s “school of origin” is. Further, per the M-V Act, “the choice regarding placement shall be made regardless of whether the child or youth lives with the homeless parents or has been temporarily placed elsewhere.” Is the temporary placement of the child in custody of the babysitter enough?

These are tricky issues, ones that the district’s homeless-student liaison (a required but often unfilled position in all district central offices), should have muddled through, and should have tackled jointly with McDowell before NPS slapped her with $15k in fines.

So, surely, the case of McDowell is one of school choice, but it also showcases some of the problematic complexities of educating homeless youth. I wonder if any “Save Tonya” Facebook groups will be created, and how many will bring this heady issue to the fore.

—Daniela Fairchild