Roma Council of Brno, Czech Republic makes recommendations for desegregating schools, stresses Roma community involvement throughout the whole process
Members of the City of Brno's Roma Council (RRB) have presented a series of recommendations aiming to support desegregation of the schools in the Brno-sever Municipal Department and to improve the educational opportunities for Romani children from socially disadvantaged localities. The proposals stress the involvement of the Romani community, an emphasis on outreach to the public, and collaboration with experts and institutions.
Brno’s Roma Council is warning that the longstanding segregation of Romani children in the schools has negative impacts on their educational results and life opportunities. “We are proposing recommendations which lead to real changes. It’s about working with the community in a way that yields results. Frequently what unfortunately happens is that projects run which have no long-term effect,” RRB member Tomáš Ščuka told news server Romea.cz.
“All steps should be based on the real needs of a Romani community grappling with antigypsyism, social exclusion and poverty,” the RRB members said. The recommendations cover 12 crucial points.
The points include involving Romani communities into all phases of the process of desegregation, from planning to realization to assessing the results. The RRB is also emphasizing the need to do outreach to the parents of schoolchildren and to support them through community meetings and seminars meant to raise awareness about the importance of achieving a high-quality education.
Another priority is support for Romani mentors and teaching assistants who could act as connecting links between families and schools, as well as collaborating with universities and taking advantage of expert studies focused on segregation and solutions to it. Earlier, the Brno-sever Municipal Department launched a collaboration with the Agency for Social Inclusion aiming to create systemic changes which will support children from disadvantaged environments and gradually eliminate segregation in the local schools.
According to the Mayor of the Brno-sever Municipal Department, Martin Maleček, there is a plan to create what are being called “Brno paths” which could serve as a model for other municipal departments. “The aim should be to establish conditions such that every child would have an opportunity to fully develop their potential irrespective of their social or economic background. It’s clear to me that the journey to that goal is not easy and will not be easy and will take some time. However, that must not, cannot deter us from exerting the maximum possible efforts to do this in collaboration with everybody involved,“ Maleček previously said.
The RRB appreciates that initiative of the municipal department for the planned desegregation of primary schools with regard to Romani children. “On the basis of our many years of experience, including our knowledge of the internal milieu of the Romani community, we consider the high-quality education of Romani children to be the key to success,” the RRB said in a statement sent to news server Romea.cz.
At the same time, the RRB is appealing for the necessity of long-term political support and the active involvement of all involved parties. The recommendations will be discussed at the next meeting of the local platform bringing together representatives of the municipal department, the Romani community, and experts.
The aim is to process these proposals into a comprehensive plan for desegregating the schools. “We want this process to yield actual results. It shouldn’t just be that money is spent, but that people sense these changes in practice,” Ščuka said.
Recommendations of the City of Brno’s Roma Council
1. Political support from the City of Brno must be achieved
The systemic transformation of the education of Romani children involves a long-term process that cannot transpire without stable political support across the political spectrum. In the case of the City of Brno, what is essential is support from the politicians and the responsible bureaucrats at Brno City Hall to cooperate with the relevant municipal departments on this issue.
2. Long-term, regular meetings between representatives of the RRB and political actors from different political parties are crucial to raising awareness about this problem and securing support for the agreements achieved (for example, adopting a declaration of long-term responsibility or creating cross-departmental working groups).
3. Complete involvement of Romani communities in all phases of the desegregation process from planning, to realization, to the monitoring and communicating of the project results. The aim is to involve as many members of the Romani minority as possible in community activities and expert roles.
4. It is essential that the entities responsible arrange for extensive outreach on this subject. For instance, this involves organizing community meetings for Romani parents, meetings of Romani parents with experts to discuss their children’s futures in segregated schools versus their futures in the schools where classes are ethnically mixed. The aim is to provide information on the importance of high-quality education and make it possible for Romani parents to freely decide whether their children will attend mainstream schools.
5. Planning and putting together proposals straight from Romani community members within the framework of community centers.
6. Supporting the training and employment of Roma as field workers, mentors and teaching assistants in collaboration with nonprofit organizations.
7. Holding informational seminars in community centers with Romani lecturers who are able to familiarize parents with the significance of quality education and share their personal experiences.
8. Identify key areas for effective problem-solving. Take advantage of the available expert studies and surveys focused on the segregation of Romani children and on the strategic documents which are dedicated to addressing this issue. Invest significant effort and resources into strengthening the roles of the community workers, mentors and teaching assistants who will work with children and their parents. Pupils who are socially disadvantaged and start first grade in mainstream schools must have the support of an educator who understands their home situation so that the chances of these pupils overcoming their disadvantage are increased as soon as possible and their inequality does not intensify.
9. Establish collaboration with Masaryk University and its faculties which have already performed research into the subject of segregation and take advantage of their findings to prevent repetition of such surveys by agencies and universities.
10. Take advantage of a broader spectrum of tools for desegregation:
- Support outreach and create opportunities and support for parents who want their children to enroll in mainstream schools, including by providing additional or extra care for such pupils from the start of their attendance.
- Do not just rely on redrawing catchment areas.
- Support the community function of the schools through grants and teacher training on inclusion.
- Endeavor to improve the quality of the currently segregated schools so they will attract more interest from majority-society parents by taking advantage of alternative educational programs such as Montessori or Waldorf.
11. Support for Romani identity and Romani pupil self-confidence
Combat antigypsyism and stereotypes through cultural/educational workshops and lecturers who are Romani experts and public figures.
12. The pedagogy program at university level should include subject matter on the culture and history of Romani people, including the social problems reflecting their current position of inequality, as well as methods for how to approach working with the children who are disadvantaged through this situation.
