Integration Defended: Berkeley Unified's Strategy to Maintain School Diversity

Describes a desegregation plan that considers the neighborhood's racial makeup and other diversity measures rather than student race in granting school preference. Examines the plan's legal, policy, and demographic context and lessons for other districts

The Segregation of American Teachers.

Data from a unique new survey of over 1,000 teachers in K-12 public schools across the country show that our teaching force is largely segregated. Using this new dataset, I find that teachers of different races are teaching students of very different racial composition, adding an extra dimension to growing student racial segregation. White teachers comprise an overwhelming majority of the nation's teachers. Yet at the same time, they were the least likely to have had much experience with racial diversity and remain remarkably isolated. The typical African American teacher teaches in a school were nearly three-fifths of students are from low-income families while the average white teacher has only 35% of low-income students. Latino and Asian teachers are in schools that educate more than twice the proportion of English language learners as schools of white teachers. Nonwhite teachers and teachers who teach in schools with high percentages of minority or poor students are more likely to report that they are contemplating switching schools or careers. The article concludes with recommendations for diversifying the teaching force and ensuring that schools serving students of all backgrounds have a racially integrated, highly qualified faculty

Charter Schools and Race: A Lost Opportunity for Integrated Education

Segregation patterns in the nation's charter schools are studied. After reviewing state charter legislation that directly addresses issues of racial and ethnic balance of student enrollment, we briefly examine the racial composition and segregation of the charter school population nationally. School-level analyses, aggregated by state constitute the primary method of studying segregation in charter schools. First, we look at racial composition and segregation of charter schools by state. Then, we consider the differences in segregation between non-charter public schools (or simply "public schools" for convenience) and charter schools, as well as segregation within the charter school sector. We conclude with a discussion of the article's findings and recommendations to promote further racial equity in this growing sector of public schools

NEPC Review: Priced Out of Public Schools: District Lines, Housing Access, and Inequitable Educational Options (Bellwether Education Partners, October 2021)

A Bellwether report attempts to examine the availability of low-income rental units in school districts to understand whether districts in the largest 200 metropolitan areas are accessible to families in poverty. While the report&rsquo;s focus on the intersection of housing and education policy for students&rsquo; opportunities is commendable, it suffers from significant methodological shortcomings. One problem is that the report&rsquo;s approach is disconnected from federal housing policy and research. In addition, and particularly problematic, the report is silent on how race and racism relate to housing access and educational opportunity. These concerns and others severely limit the report&rsquo;s utility for informing social policy. </div

NEPC Review: Pushed Out? Low-Performing Students and New York City Charter Schools

To investigate claims that New York City charter schools push out low-performing students in order to inflate academic achievement scores, this report uses six years of student-level data that allows for tracking student movements over time in both district and charter schools. It relies on a regression equation that includes &ldquo;low scorers&rdquo; (defined in several ways), whether a school is a charter or a traditional public school (TPS), and an interaction between those two characteristics in order to estimate the probability of a student exiting. The report concludes that charter schools have exit rates similar to TPSs, and there is no significant interaction between low-performing students and charter schools; and thus, there is no charter push-out effect for low-achieving students. The main problem is that the research design does not address its primary push-out question. The brief report has little detail and does not examine a host of other relevant factors. Dichotomous test scores are a proxy for low-achievement, reasons for disenrollment are not addressed, mid-year vs. end-of-year mobility is not parsed, cumulative rates of attrition are not examined, a possible data discrepancy between the two sectors in grades 5 and 6 is not considered, and 5% of the student population is missing. These unresolved issues are particularly regrettable in light of the rich dataset. While the report&rsquo;s central question is important, this report fails to provide policymakers with new or definitive guidance.</p