Century Foundation Report Praises Morris School Merger, As District Faces New Tests From Immigration
It took a state Supreme Court ruling and an edict from New Jersey’s education commissioner to force the merger of Morristown and Morris Township schools in 1971.
Yet the Morris School District has endured, surviving early racial unrest and shifting demographics, to become an anchor of Morristown’s economic renaissance and, some would say, a beacon of diversity in one of America’s most segregated states.
This 5,226-student district has thrived as merger attempts in New Brunswick, Plainfield and elsewhere have failed.
What is the secret sauce?
An academic report released on Monday does not reveal the precise recipe. But it savors key ingredients of “what may be the most diverse school district in New Jersey.”
Compiled over two years, from dozens of interviews with past and present district administrators, teachers, parents and students, the study was released by the Century Foundation, with support from the Fund for New Jersey, the Mills Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Morris Educational Foundation, and individual donors...