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“600” Schools, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Caption: The Board of Education conducted a study of “600” schools from 1964 to 1965. The cover of the report shows a line drawing of a Public School 615 in Brooklyn.
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Organizing in the early 1960s by the Citywide Committee on Integration and by Reverend Milton Galamison had increased public attention to the “600” schools. After newspaper coverage of misconduct by teachers and administrators at a “600”’ school in Brooklyn, as well as criticism over the schools being racially segregated, the Board of Education created a special committee to study conditions inside these schools. After two years of study, the report, “‘600’ Schools Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," was delivered to the superintendent of schools in September 1966. The report acknowledged that the “600” schools were “ethnically unbalanced” and attributed this imbalance to the “many social problems and pressures to which these children are exposed,” rather than “mental illness.” While acknowledging that many problems existed within the “600” school system, the committee also highlighted the strengths of the program and the number of students who moved through the system, many of whom were considered “rehabilitated” and returned to the regular school system. They cited a need for more funding, personnel, and training to address the problems and improve the system.
Categories: K-12-education, special-education,
Tags: segregation, policing & the criminal legal system, criminal legal system, Black people, Latinx people, disability labels, emotional disability, disabled people,
Date: September 1966
Creator: Municipal Archives
Source: Municipal Archives
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Copyright: Public Domain
How to cite: “‘600’ Schools, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Excerpt),” in New York City Civil Rights History Project, Accessed: [Month Day, Year], https://nyccivilrightshistory.org/topics/boycotting-ny-schools/1965-boycott/600-schools-yesterday-today-tomorrow.
- How do the authors of the report describe students in the “600” schools? How do they describe the schools?
- The authors are describing a part of the NYC school system more than fifty years ago. What parts of their description seem similar to schools in NYC today? What parts have changed?
- Based on the other documents here, how do you think students who attended the “600” schools’ descriptions would have compared to those of the report’s authors?