School segregation in NYC

Jack Alcineus

Bell, D. (2004). Silent covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the unfulfilled hopes for racial reform. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

This journal describes the author Bell acknowledging the difficulty in accepting the critical view of Brown's pragmatism: "Brown has become a legal landmark, an American icon embraced as a symbol of the nation's ability to condemn racial segregation and put the unhappy past behind us" (p. 130). In Chapter 3, Bell offers a provocative alternative decision to Brown, and argues that by upholding the Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" decision, the Court could have encouraged more realistic and beneficial educational results for black students. Bell claims that in his personal evolution and recognized his responsibility to provide black students with an effective education. He offers two suggestions: reducing the disparities in school funding and the revival of alternative types of inner-city schools, such as independent, private, and charter schools and tuition vouchers. Bell cites several cases that have argued the issues of school financing and makes an integral point: "courts generally do not make the connection between unequal funding and race" (p. 163). Again, as was the case around the Brown decision, black students' needs are being compromised, yet little action has been taken to desegregate the funding (p. 161).

Clutterbuck-Cook, A. J. (2017). The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. Library Journal, 142(6), 100-101.

Clutterbuck,

In his journal The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, gives an account and history of how the current segregation in schools came to be. He argues that the primary reason for segregation is the government, which has tolerated policies that enhance the same. He goes ahead to give essential data informing us of the rate of prevalence of school segregation in each state. New York makes the list of cities with the highest school segregation practices. The materials also highlight some of the strategies that can be employed to reduce school segregation, which makes it useful for the formation of recommendations.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. New York, NY: Teachers College Press http://www.uvm.edu/~rgriffin/Darling-Hammond-Anatomy.pdf

The author in this article describes dozens of studies how children of color receive less attention in the classroom and have a harder time comprehending the material due to exterior factors. Minority children are usually punished for offenses caused within the classroom or due to behavior. Teachers have been found to hold negative attitudes in regards to their ability, language barrier, potential and personality traits. Most minority children have the least interaction with their teachers opposed to Caucasian children. Small schools and smaller learning communities have been installed in larger facilities in urban communities in order to increase graduation rates and lower dropout rates.

DeSena, J. N., & Ansalone, G. (2009). Gentrification, schooling and social inequality. Educational Research Quarterly, 33(1), 60-74. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.liucat.lib.liu.edu/docview/216217934?accountid=12142

This journal describes tracking within the educational system. Tracking also known as phasing or streaming is a system in which students are divided into their classes based on their overall achievement. The spectrum that they are ranked on consists of: average, normal, or below average. Tracking has the overall goal to place students in classes to provide the education catered to their needs and their basic understanding of the English language. Tracking represents a unique form of segregated schooling and recent trends in urban areas may be creating hundreds of segregated and unequal schools and frustrating the dream of minority families for access to education that is equal and excellent. Social class segregates the local schools in that they are reserved for low income children, many of whom are immigrants and members of minority groups.

Diamond, J. B. (2006). Still Separate and unequal: Examining race, opportunity, and school achievement in "integrated" suburbs. The Journal of Negro Education, 75(3), 495-505. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.liucat.lib.liu.edu/docview/222067021?accountid=12142

This study discusses some statistics from an educational standpoint where it shows from the 2000 census data, 72% of the Black population over 25 years old has graduated from high school and 14.3% have graduated from college. While it is apparent that black students living in an established, integrated suburban area usually outperform other black students residing in urban schools and less affluent neighborhoods. This ranges from grades, test scores and course taking practices. African Americans are disadvantaged in these three ways: (a) structurally by having limited access to valued resources outside of schools, (b) institutionally by being positioned systematically in the least advantaged locations for learning inside schools, and (c) ideologically by having their intellectual capacity questioned and their cultural styles devalued both within schools and in the broader social discourse. These disadvantages are key ingredients that contribute to racial achievement disparities generally, and, particularly, within suburban contexts.

Farley, R., & Allen, W. R. (1987). The color line and the quality of life in America. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press. https://www.russellsage.org/sites/default/files/ColorLine-download.pdf

In this article the authors discuss the conflicting situations where black people vs white people. This was a descriptive study and a comparison of the two groups. Economic status played a critical role in the lives of black Americans. Within the United States the quality of a person’s life is often closely related to available economic resources. The educational profile for black Americans and Latinos in the 1980s. Hispanics were more than likely than blacks to have completed fewer than 8 years of formal schooling. Educational attainment I closely correlated with occupation for both races, even though it's less likely with black Americans. Whites as a more affluent segment of the population drain financial support when they move out of the district in sizable numbers, the few whites and sizable black and minority populations that remain are generally less able to fund the public-school system through property taxes and special tax levies. With the erosion of the school district’s financial base comes a diminution in ratios may rise and become more difficult to attract more qualified teachers and the problems proliferate.

Orfield, G., & Eaton, S. (2005) Dismantling Desegregation. New York: The New Press. (Original work published 1996) https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/a-multiracial-society-with-segregated-schools-are-we-losing-the-dream/frankenberg-multiracial-society-losing-the-dream.pdf

This article explains desegregation. There is viable data that proves a substantial amount of American schools that are non-white educate 1/6 of the nation's black students and 1/4 of the black students in the Northeast and Midwest. These schools are often called apartheid schools because they have enormous poverty, limited resources, and many social and health problems of many types. Latino children are the most segregated minorities within the educational system. Latinos have remained segregated due to demographic changes in the population and limited legal and policy efforts targeted to increasing desegregation for Latinos. Latino students still have, until recently, been consistently isolated from white students then the average black student. The average Asian student attends the most integrated schools of the minorities, Native American students attend school on average in which half the student body has white and their exposure to black students is lowest among all racial groups.

Palardy, G. J., Rumberger, R. W., & Butler, T. (2015). The Effect of High School Socioeconomic, Racial, and Linguistic Segregation on Academic Performance and School Behaviors. Teachers College Record, 117(12), n12.

Palardy, Rumberger, and Butler, in their article “The Effect of High School Socioeconomic, Racial, and Linguistic Segregation on Academic Performance and School Behaviors," they point out the effects of school segregation on performance and formation of behaviors within students. Due to segregation based on financial aspects, there have occurred schools that are poorly infrastructure-endowed and hence having low education quality. Inherently, this causes the production of students with less knowledge and qualification in the current labor market. Consequently, due to frustrations, they end up engaging in crime and develop a negative attitude towards the favored cohorts. The reading is useful because it was written recently hence more accurate and relevant to the current generation. Perhaps the journal concludes by suggesting that inclusivity is the only thing that will cure the consequences of segregation.

Reardon, S. F., & Owens, A. (2014). 60 years after Brown: Trends and consequences of school segregation. Annual Review of Sociology, 40, 199-218.

60 years after Brown:

Trends and consequences of school segregation is an article written by Reardon, and Owens in review of the changes that happened in American schools since the brown case. He notes that the most significant decrease in the level of school segregation based on racial and financial statuses of the students was witnessed towards the offset of the 1960s. they note that regardless of the definition used to describe segregation, changes in the level of school segregation in the recent past is insignificant. Compared to the 1990s, the two major causes of segregation today are finance and districts. The reading is useful because it provides extra information on factors that are currently influencing segregation trends which include residential segregation, litigation and demographic dynamics.

Rosiek, J. (2019). School segregation: A realist’s view. Phi Delta Kappan, 100(5), 8-13.

Rosiek is a professor at the University of Cambridge, working under the department of education studies. In his article "School segregation: A realist's view," Rosiek talks about the existence of racial segregation among American schools and, in particular, New York. He argues that racial school segregation has exhibited a form that is not only hard to identify but also to eliminate. The segregation is enforced through school choice, housing policies and zoning. This has led to division of schools into two; schools of the rich consisting of the majority, and schools of the poor consisting of the poor and minority. It is noteworthy that the majority are whites and minority blacks. This is a credible source for research because it provides useful information on factors that form the basis for segregation in New York.

Rothstein, R. (2015). The racial achievement gap, segregated schools, and segregated neighborhoods: A constitutional insult. Race and Social Problems, 7(1), 21-30. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.liucat.lib.liu.edu/10.1007/s12552-014-9134-1

This study speaks about students living in impoverished neighborhoods for multiple generations and that has affected education. These students living in these areas are more than less likely to study due to adequate housing and have a higher rate of absenteeism. read Children in impoverished neighborhoods are surrounded by more crime and violence and suffer from greater stress that interferes with learning and will start the remediation process where these types of classes will be the norm. The study included that ‘‘the parent’s environment during [her own] childhood may be more important than the child’s own environment.’’ He calculates that ‘‘living in poor neighborhoods over two consecutive generations reduces children’s cognitive skills by roughly eight or nine points on the IQ test which is equivalent to being left back one or two grades behind. Wealth also influences children’s early expectations that they will attend and complete college. White middle-class children are more likely to prepare for, apply to, and graduate from college than black children with similar family income.

Stiefel, Leanna & Schwartz, Amy & Chellman, Colin. (2007). So Many Children Left Behind Segregation and the Impact of Subgroup Reporting in No Child Left Behind on the Racial Test Score Gap. Educational Policy. 21. 527-550. 10.1177/0895904806289207.

This authors in this study discusses the low-achieving students in the education system and how they are deprived of equal opportunity at an education that is sufficient. A key requirement for this act was for administrators to provide annual tests in math and reading in grades 3 through 8. Data was collected from the NY Board of Education from 2001-2002. During this year white and Asian pass rates were above the state average on both exams and grades whereas Black, Hispanic, and American Indian were below the average. The district level of the education system should take accountability. There are 382 schools (35.8%) that are exempt from accountability and manipulate student enrollment or test taking to avoid the 10- student minimum.

Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria: And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books. https://www.heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/Why-Are-All-the-Black-Students-Still-Sitting-Together-in-the-Proverbial-College-Cafeteria.pdf

This article is describing how Students of color tend to group together under conditions of racial isolation as a means toward decreasing racial stigma and vulnerability to stereotypes as the author describes a same-race grouping of black students in a predominantly white context enables students to gain validation, resist stereotypes, and develop culturally affirming identities. By contrast, white students tend to group together when they are accustomed to segregated white environments. Factors for schools and universities should include patterns of admissions and retention for students of color; and state and institutional contexts and policies, which are key indicators or signals to students’ about whether or not they are welcome on a particular campus. For example, a lack of institutional commitment to diversity as signaled by banning consideration of race in admissions has a “discouraging effect” on the application during the enrollment process from minority students.

Thernstrom, A., & Thernstrom, S. (2003). No excuses: Closing the racial gap in learning. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e72d/bd1382bb497815e1978da15134b7dcc982f0.pdf

This article describes how the public education system is failing its children and promoting racial inequality. The average Black and Hispanic student at the end of high school has academic skills around the eighth-grade level. There are several statistics and facts that prove Asians have the best results academically opposed to other minorities in regards to their education and stress of certain grades being acceptable or unacceptable as education is a top priority in their household. The authors point out that the Black-White gap emerges before children even enter school, noting, “This is a gap that appears very early in the life of Black children; something about the lives of these children is limiting their intellectual development” whether it be parental practices, single-parent households, or low-birth weight. The solution to the gap is changing the family culture.

Walsemann, Katrina M, PhD., M.P.H., & Bell, Bethany A,PhD., M.P.H. (2010). Integrated schools, segregated curriculum: Effects of within-school segregation on adolescent health behaviors and educational aspirations. American Journal of Public Health, 100(9), 1687-95. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.liucat.lib.liu.edu/docview/747120448?accountid=12142

The research conducted by Walsemann examined the extent of within school segregation, it was measured by unevenness of black and caucasian adolescents across all English curriculum. The research was an analytic cross-sectional study with multiple schools’ Black students that attended schools that were racially mixed or predominately white schools were more likely than white children to be assigned to less rigorous academic work even if they have no learning disabilities and their abilities are in comparison to the other students. This study restricted its sample size to only non-Hispanic males n=2731) and whites (n=4158). The total analytic sample consisted of 6889 adolescents dispersed across the 47 schools (density=27-472 students for the entire sample, 10,243 male students, and 14,229 female students). Johnson and Hoffmann found lower rates of smoking initiation among Black students, but not White students, attending predominantly minority schools Hoffmann also found lower odds of drinking in predominantly minority schools, but only for female students. Schools similar to the ones described can create stereotypes and be marginalized by their fellow peers and faculty thus causing same-race relationships and a safe haven for a sense of belonging. Within school segregation may affect a student’s aspirations and goals and their social behaviors partaking in smoking and drinking.