Does Neighborhood Gentrification Create School Desegregation?

Abstract

Background/Context Race and class inequality have long governed patterns of residential and school segregation across America. However, as neighborhoods across the country that have historically been home to residents of color experience an influx of White and middle-class residents, new questions arise as to whether these demographic shifts in neighborhoods correspond to school-level demographic changes. Purpose: This study examines Washington, DC's, most gentrifying areas, and the impact on racial diversity in local public schools. Research Design This quantitative study draws on data from the decennial census, the American Community Survey, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. Findings/ Results: This study finds evidence that school enrollment patterns in Washington, DC's, most rapidly gentrifying areas have seen a reduction in racial segregation, more so in traditional public schools than in charters. Although this trend is promising, a high level of racial segregation remains, and progress is still needed to ensure that newly integrated neighborhoods also mean desegregated schools. Conclusions/Recommendations Given barriers to school desegregation efforts, gentrification is offering a unique opportunity to create racially and economically diverse schools. However, managing the process of gentrification such that it supports school desegregation requires coordinated and targeted policies that underscore the fundamental relationships among housing, communities, and schools.

Diversifying Neighborhoods, Diversifying Schools? The Relationship Between Neighborhood Racial Change and School Segregation in New York City

“…Our findings are consistent with recent research concerning neighborhood changes and schools showing that at least on a small, localized scale, largely White and middle-to upper-class families are beginning to engage with urban school districts (Diem et al, 2019;Mordechay & Ayscue, 2020;Stillman, 2012). In addition, our findings are similar to those recently reported by Cordova-Cobo and Ellen (2019), who analyzed the links between neighborhood and school diversity in across NYC.…”

“…The increase in elementary enrollment of White students in gentrifying areas aligns with previous studies that have found middle-class and White families increasingly choosing neighborhood public schools (Friedus, 2019; Mordechay & Ayscue, 2020; Stillman, 2012). Prior research has also suggested that gentrifying families tend to cluster their children into a few “vetted” schools, indicating they are not comfortable sending their children to a neighborhood public school unless other gentrifier families are also attending (Jordan & Gallagher, 2015; Kimelberg & Billingham, 2012).…”

Opting out of neighbourhood schools: The role of local education markets in student mobility

“…White flight strategies and colonisation strategies may coexist in gentrified neighbourhoods and produce different patterns of mobility and different effects on school segregation (Candipan, 2019(Candipan, , 2020Mordechay & Ayscue, 2020;Pearman, 2019).…”

“…Parents enrol their children in very different types of schools even if they live in the same neighbourhood in a process of ‘disaffiliation and selective belonging’ (Boterman, 2020, p. 1). White flight strategies and colonisation strategies may coexist in gentrified neighbourhoods and produce different patterns of mobility and different effects on school segregation (Candipan, 2019, 2020; Mordechay & Ayscue, 2020; Pearman, 2019).…”

“An Opportunity to Grow Our Collective Consciousness”: Navigating Racial Tension in a Gentrifying Elementary School

“…As the racial and socioeconomic composition of a neighborhood change, the enrollment of the neighborhood school may also change, reflecting the shifting demographics of the local community (Green et al, 2020; Mordechay & Ayscue, 2020; Posey-Maddox, 2014). While gentrification may create an opportunity for creating a more diverse, integrated school, tensions arise that must be addressed through a focus on leadership, equity, and intercultural awareness (Mordechay, 2022; Siegel-Hawley et al, 2017).…”