“The separateness and inequality that characterizes US education along racial, ethnic and social class is increasingly circumscribed by school district boundaries...” begins a new report from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Findings from the nation’s eight-remaining inter-district school desegregation programs, created to enable disadvantaged black and Latino students to cross district lines and attend predominantly white suburban schools are positive.

 

Such programs help close the black-white and Latino-white achievement gaps, racial attitudes are better and lead to further education for students of color who participate.

 

Interestingly, suburban residents, educators, parents and students grow to appreciate programs the longer kids are enrolled and are advocating for their continuation.

 

The authors suggest that deseg programs are out of sync—that today’s education policies focus on the use of standards, tests and accountability to address desegregation along with alternative school choice programs that include private providers.

 

It’s their belief that the newer strategies have not delivered and inequality has increased in many states.

 

The article "Integrating Schools" was published on December 2nd in the kyw1060 Newsradio website.