Spatial Mismatch and the Share of Black, Hispanic, and White Students Enrolled in Charter Schools

Abstract

How are patterns of segregation related to families’ engagement in public-school choice policies across U.S. metropolitan areas? This article examines how segregation in urban public schools and the spatial mismatch between school-age children and relatively high-performing schools relate to the shares of Black, Hispanic, and White students enrolled in charter schools, one particular school choice mechanism. Drawing on Core-Based Statistical Area–level data, I find that charter-school enrollment among Black students is positively associated with spatial mismatch. As the degree of geographic imbalance between Black and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic school-age children and high-performing schools increases, so too does the share of Black and Hispanic students who enroll in charter schools. There is no such relationship for White students, whose enrollment in charter schools is higher when school segregation is relatively low—that is, when they would be more likely to attend neighborhood public schools with Black children.

A Phenomenological Study of the College Student Disciplinary Suspension and Reenrollment Experience

“…These results yielded some interesting conclusions regarding K-12 suspensions including: minimal benefits from suspension, and it "removes the potential pro-social normative influences of school and provides an opportunity to establish antisocial peer networks" (Quin & Hemphill, 2014, p. 52). Although still unanswered, Denice, Gross, and Rausch (2015) at least raised the question regarding how schools help students "come back" from a suspension.…”