Study: Nation's Charter Schools Are Places of Racial Isolation
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.
Search
News
Study: Nation’s Charter Schools Are Places of Racial Isolation
by Black Issues , July 31, 2003
Categories:
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University (CRP) released a new study earlier this month on segregation patterns in the nation's charter schools.
"Charter Schools and Race: A Lost Opportunity for Integrated Education," written by Erica Frankenberg and Chungmei Lee, is the third in a series examining segregation trends in America's public schools at the beginning of the 21st century.
Just last month, the U.S. Supreme Court proclaimed that diversity is a compelling state interest and affirmed that racial and ethnic diversity is a benefit for students of all races. However, instead of creating schools of diversity, many charter schools across the nation are places of racial isolation, particularly for minority students.
Dr. Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project and author of the report's foreword, noted: "Creating choice without serious civil rights policies tends to reflect and even reinforce segregation, losing an opportunity to provide integrated education preparing students for diverse colleges and workplaces. As a native Minnesotan, I am particularly distressed at the poor record in the birthplace of the charter movement, one of the nation's Whitest states, where segregation of minority students is notably severe."
When it first began, the charter school movement struck a chord in many communities, particularly in urban districts: more than 2,300 charter schools are now educating about 1 percent of the student population nationwide, and often larger percentages in the states and districts where charter schools are concentrated.
Now, more than a decade later, 70 percent of Black charter school students attend intensely segregated schools compared with 34 percent of Black public school students. In almost every state studied, the average Black charter school student attends school with a higher percentage of Black students and a lower percentage of White students. Furthermore, there are pockets of White segregation, where White charter students are often as isolated as Black charter students. The results are mixed for Latino students.
Given the flexibility to innovate and to transcend school district boundary lines, charter schools have the potential to create integrated schools. Yet, after more than a decade, there is strikingly little clear evidence that this is happening.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
1
Comments posted here may be reprinted in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine, and may be edited for purposes of clarity and/or space.
Related Stories
- LAW: James Forman Jr.
- Debate On Desegregation Rages as Supreme Court Begins Oral Arguments
- Data on Minority Achievement Gaps Vital for Progress, Say Educators
- Civil Rights Commission Takes On Diversity In K-12 Schools
- In the Academic and Think Tank World, Pondering Achievement-Gap Remedies Takes Center Stage
- Online School Targets Hispanics, Students At Risk
- A $4 Billion Push for Better Schools
Popular Topics
FEATURED jobs
|
Provost and Executive VP for Academic Affairs
The University of Toledo The University of Toledo, a Carnegie Foundation Research University seeks a dynamic leader with experience in organizational transformation. The candidate must possess an earned doctorate or terminal degree and have passion for teaching, learning and innovation. Prior government... Clinician Educator Stanford University Applications are invited from individuals who have completed clinical training in anesthesia, and who have additional experience appropriate for an academic career for positions as Clinical Instructor, Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Professor ... Accounting Manager University of Baltimore Reporting to the Associate Comptroller, the Accounting Manager is responsible for the accurate and timely management of the processing of payroll. Serves as the business owner and subject matter expert for the various PeopleSoft modules and other technologies utilized... Faculty Development Specialist The University of Scranton Job Summary/Basic Function: Support innovative teaching informed by the scholarship of teaching and learning and best practices in curriculum design and delivery. Sustain a university-wide conversation on teaching and student learning outcomes. |