School Integration Research:

Key Findings

Presented by Quanic Fullard & Emilie Linick

Agenda

• About Capital Impact

• Purpose of Research

• Methodology & Terminology

• Historical context & Current landscape

• Key Findings

• Proposed Next Steps

ABOUT

CAPITAL IMPACT

STRATEGIC PILLARS

Through capital and commitment Capital Impact helps people

build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success.

A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI),

we have a 30-year history delivering strategic financing, social

innovation programs, and capacity building that creates social

change and delivers financial impact nationwide.

FOCUS AREAS

DELIVERING EDUCATION IMPACT TOUNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE

RESEARCH

BACKGROUND

Objectives

• Understand the potential benefits and/or challenges of school integration

• Identify best practices of successful integrated school models

Primary research

• Conducted 9 interviews and attended 3 sessions

• Schools (Citizens of the World Charter Schools, High Tech High, E.L. Haynes Public

Charter School, Summit Public Schools, Blackstone Valley Prep Academy, Hebrew Public

Charter Schools for Global Citizens), ed/think tank orgs (New York Appleseed and The

Century Foundation), academics (Columbia Teachers College)

Secondary Research

• Conducted literature review (30+ articles/papers) on racial and socioeconomic segregation

in schools, benefits of integrated schools, best practices and policies

MethodologyThree month research project including monthly meetings to report findings, synthesize info, and discuss implications

Terminology

Segregation Laws, customs, or practices under which people are restricted to

separate facilities based on physical characteristics

Desegregation Legal action to end segregation

Diverse Population that is representative of more than one social, cultural, or

economic group

Integration Use of inclusionary policies to promote social interaction of diverse

groups of people. Emphasizes attitude and policy changes

“[Integration] is the positive acceptance of desegregation and the welcomed participation

of [nonwhites] into the total range of human activities. Desegregation then, rightly, is only

a short-range goal. Integration is the ultimate goal of our national community.”

Martin Luther King Jr

History of School Desegregation

1945 Brown vs. Board of Ed: Supreme Court rules that separate

educational facilities are unequal; orders desegregation of schools

1957 – 1973 Strong federal and judicial commitment to school desegregation

1974 Milliken vs. Bradley: Supreme Court halts inter-district

desegregation plans

1975 to present Districts fight voluntary and mandatory desegregation plans

Current Landscape

“People understand why mixed-income housing is better than 100% low-income

housing. So we should understand why integrated schools is a good idea.”

Jon Rosenberg, President & CEO, Hebrew Public Schools

Public schools are more racially and socioeconomically segregated now than

they have been in half a century

• 1/3 of black and Latino students attend schools that are more than 90% non-

white. More than 1/3 of white students attend schools that are 90-100% white

• ¾ of students in 91-100% black & Latino schools are in schools that also have

more than 70% low-income students

“People understand why mixed-income housing is better than 100% low-income housing. So

we should understand why integrated schools is a good idea.”

Jon Rosenberg, President & CEO, Hebrew Public Schools

KEY

FINDINGS

Benefits of School IntegrationIntegrated schools provide long-term academic and social benefits to all

students and is key to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty

• Segregated schools negatively affect white students and students of color

• Black adults who attended integrated schools, in comparison to counterparts or

their own siblings in segregated schools, were less likely to be poor, have health

issues, or go to jail, and are more likely to go to college (UC Berkeley, 2015 study)

• Research dating back 50 years shows that socioeconomic make up of a school can

play a larger role in achievement than the poverty of an individual student’s family

• Benefits of diverse schools are not automatic - schools must work to create true

integration with intention and refine best practices over time

Benefits of School Integration Integrated schools provide long-term academic and social benefits to all

students and is key to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty

Civic, social and cognitive

• Intercultural and cross-racial interaction promotes understanding, reduces

stereotypes and biases, improves critical thinking skills and creativity

• Increases ability to function in a diverse society and interact, negotiate and

communicate with people from diverse groups

• Enhances social cohesion, reinforces democratic values

Academic

• Equitable access to resources such as facilities, highly qualified teachers,

challenging courses, private and public funding, and social and cultural capital

• Higher student achievement and college persistence for minorities

• No evidence suggesting that white student test scores suffer

Best Practices: Curriculum & Pedagogy

Academics

• Avoid tracking programs

• Project based learning allows for meaningful inter-group interactions

• Data should be used to analyze sub-group performance

Professional Development

• Trainings on equity and culturally responsive teaching

• Recruit mission-aligned and culturally competent teachers and support staff

• Quotas for staff of different backgrounds

Discipline

• Restorative justice approach and low suspension rates

Best Practices: Student Recruitment

Intentional Site Location

• Naturally diverse neighborhood or attendance zone

• Situated on border of 2-3 racially or socioeconomically different neighborhoods

• Easier to encourage low-income students to wealthier neighborhoods

Weighted Lottery System

• Schools adopt a lottery system that weights applicants based on factors such

as socioeconomic status, parents’ level of education, or census tract

Targeted Recruitment

• 50% Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) is “sweet spot”

• Develop and review recruitment strategy annually, if not more frequently

• Promote diversity as a benefit to students/families

• Develop strategic community partnerships

Best Practices: School Culture

School Mission

• Diversity embedded in mission and/or a diversity statement

• All existing schools founded as diverse charter schools

Social Engagement

• Promotes integration outside of classrooms

• Build family connections through activities such as carpooling and playdates

Parent Engagement

• Promote power sharing between high and low-income parents

Stakeholder Feedback

• Stakeholder surveys (parents, students, staff) include questions on inclusion

IMPLEMENTATION

+ NEXT STEPS

Implementation Considerations

“Placing brown bodies next to white bodies does not osmotically improve the life

trajectory of Blacks.”

Professor Rucker C. Johnson, UC Berkeley

Recruitment

• State or city policy may not permit weighted lottery or controlled choice

• Recruitment practices and multi-lingual documents is resource intensive

• Monitor residential patterns to maintain diversity balance

School Culture

• Desegregation can lead to assimilation, lower expectations, disparate disciplinary

measures, segregated classes and tracking

• Maintain reputation as high achieving school for all students

• Provide additional support to disadvantaged students and families

• Easier to implement in lower grade levels and start-up schools

Next StepsImpact

• Define new metrics to track broader impact of integrated schools

Lending

• Develop protocol to determine if school is truly integrated

• Develop business to integrated schools (e.g. members of National Coalition of Diverse Charter Schools)

Policy to Practice

• Present on integrated model at the National Charter Schools Conference (2017)

• Advocate federal and state support of integrated schools

• Explore relationship between high quality integrated schools and housing policies that shape residential

segregation patterns (links Capital Impact’s community development and education work)

“True integration, true equality, requires a surrendering of advantage…”

Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times

Stay in Touch!

Quanic Fullard

Program Specialist

qfullard@capitalimpact.org

(703) 647-2321

Emilie Linick

Senior Loan Officer

elinick@capitalimpact.org

(510) 496-2224

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