50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that the "separate but equal" doctrine was unconstitutional, thus giving all students, regardless of race, a seat in the classroom.

Brown v. Board, radically changed the "look" of classrooms, but unfortunately has not been successful in giving all students an equal education. (See Teacher Update 5/13/2004 for details.)

Many factors have led to the unequal system that exists today. The next logical step is to fix the system. That is why President Bush envisioned and Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001-to hold states, districts and schools accountable for educating all their students. The law provides options for parents, support for teachers, and record amounts of federal funding to get the job done.

An example of such a school is Asbell Elementary in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At Asbell, 58 percent of the students come from low-income homes, but despite daunting challenges, 94 percent of the students scored at the proficient or advanced levels in literacy. Only one other school in the district performed better-a school with only 7 percent of its students from low-income families.

To view the Education Commission of the States case study visit:  PDF (880K)

Educating all students--regardless of race and socioeconomic background--is not a distant dream, because many schools and teachers have made it a reality. We must continue to work to ensure that every child in every school has the opportunities promised in Brown v. Board of Education.

Tools for Teachers:

For education resources on Brown v. Board, visit http://www.ed.gov/free/bvbe.html