The Shifting Policy Landscape Impacting Parent Choice

Issues of Racial Diversity After Unitary Status in Nashville

Claire Smrekar, PhD

Vanderbilt University

Magnet schools in MNPS

“Magnet schools have traditionally been used as a tool for desegregation, and we believe this focus should continue. At the same time, magnet schools and other program options cannot only enhance voluntary desegregation, but can serve as demonstration centers for the kind of education we should be providing for all children and be a vehicle for program, curriculum and staff development to improve the quality of the school system.”

– Report of the Advisory Committee on Excellence and Equity, Presented to the Board of Public Education Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Dec. 16, 1993

MNPS Under Court Order

During court ordered desegregation Nashville magnet schools were required to maintain student ratio: – 40% African American and 60% White/Other– +/- 10 percentage pts in each magnet school

program

MNPS Shift to Unitary Status

Sept 1998 – US District Court declares MNPS system unitary

Dec 14, 1998 – MNPS Board of Education diversity definition adopted:

– “Believes and supports the concept of a diversified student body within our schools…”

– “Believes diversity is of educational benefit to our students and supports our mission…”

– “This statement of support for the concept of diversity is subject to the primary priority of the educational needs of individual students…”

Student Demographic Chart

Ethnicity ’92-’93 ’95-’96 ’99-’00 ’04-’05 Davidson County Census Data 2000

White 58% 54% 48% 40% White 65%Black 39% 41% 45% 46% Black 26%Hispanic 1% 1% 4% 10% Hispanic 5%Asian 2% 3% 3% 3% Asian 2%Native American

0% 0% 0% <1% Native American

<1%

FRL 39% 45% 49% 63.6% Poverty Rate for Children under 5

19%Total Enrollment

68,448 68,978 68,345 70,089

Percentage of Black Students Across thematic magnet schools ‘98-’04

.000

.100

.200

.300

.400

.500

.600

.700

.800

.900

1.000

School A School B School C School D School E School F School G School H School I

School

Percentage

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

Percentage of FRL Students Across all thematic magnet schools ‘98-’04

.000

.100

.200

.300

.400

.500

.600

.700

.800

.900

School A School B School C School D School E School F School G School H School I

School

Percentage

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

Research Question

Why did racial composition in thematic magnet schools tip to predominantly African American in the aftermath of unitary status in MNPS?– Explore policy context and parents’ reasons for

choice in established magnet school– Examine factors that influenced African American

and White enrollments under court order and unitary status

Case Study: Jasper Elementary Magnet School

Established in 1993 as one of four “incubator” magnet schools under court order

Focus of Case Study– Parents of students in first Jasper kindergarten class following

unitary status (1999-2000)– Context of school choice during period of policy shift toward

neighborhood schools, race-neutral admissions

Methods

Interviews– Parents of 15 students– 7 Teachers (avg. tenure at Jasper – 9 yrs)– 2 Jasper Principals (1 current, 1 former)– Former Director of Magnet Schools office– Current Director of Student Assignment office

Document Review– School newsletters, memos– MSAP application, reports– Enrollment history

Shifts in Racial Composition at Jasper Elementary (1998-2004)

School Year Black Students White Students

’98-’99 43% 53%

’99-’00 59% 38%

’00-’01 74% 23%

’01-’02 79% 19%

’02-’03 81% 16%

’03-’04 84% 13%

Shifts in Racial Composition at Jasper Elementary (1998-2004)

0

20

40

60

80

100

'98-'99 '99-'00 '00-'01 '01-'02 '02-'03 '03-'04School Year

Percentage of Students

Black StudentsWhite Students

The Tipping Point

Marginal consumers (Law of the Few)

Value preferences (The Stickiness Factor)

Policy contexts

Tipping Towards Racially Balanced Magnet Schools

The Law of the Few– Role of Social Networks2 (See Schneider, Teske

& Marschall, 2000)Pre-schoolChurchWork

-- The new network: Internet

Tipping Towards Racially Balanced Magnet Schools

Stickiness Factor– Magnet schools identified as

“Something better”“Gilded”“Step above public schools”“Status…like a private school”“We just wanted a magnet”

Tipping Towards Racially Balanced Magnet Schools

Power of Policy Context (under court order)– Option-demand (two-step) choice structure– Mayoral leadership and spirit of innovation– Cross-town busing (compared to what?)

Tipping Away From Racially Balanced Magnet Schools (post unitary status)

Power of Shifting Policy ContextsSingle Lottery: legacy of longer AA wait lists

GPZSchool Improvement Plan

– Closer-to-home schooling– Cluster model– Design Center

Power of context (shifts under unitary status)

“Without busing, there was no force, they could stay in their neighborhood. And of course neighborhood schools have been touted as being the end all and be all, which I don’t necessarily believe. And if you believe in your neighborhood school, then you are going to stay in your neighborhood school.” (Jasper parent, white, freelance writer)

Coming Unstuck

Geographical Priority Zones– Choice and equity compete, coalesce

Location, location, location– 25 to 40 minute commutes one-way– Public housing, abandoned homes

The 40% Flight Principle (Rossell & Crain, 1973)– “As we tipped, it was harder and harder to get white

parents, and we tipped further.” (Jasper principal)

Tipping Out of Balance

“I have already had a couple of parents come by, white parents, for next year, that were just so excited. And then they look around and you watch their eyes grow larger, and you can just watch it happening. Then they’ll say, ‘I don’t see a lot of diversity.’ And we have to say, ‘no we don’t have a lot of diversity.’ And so it is kind of a shock… There is nothing you can do at that point. And they will have heard, and they will say, ‘we have heard such good things about this school’.” (Jasper principal)

Tipping Out of Balance

“Now last year, I had all African Americans and one little white girl…this year I had one little white girl and her mother moved her. She told me, she said, ‘it is not you, I don’t have anything against you, (my daughter) loves you, likes you.’ But she said, ‘I just don’t feel comfortable with her being alone.’” (Jasper teacher, 9-year veteran)

Purpose of Magnet Schools Under Unitary Status

Tool for diversity v. declining significance of race

“Incubator” for community involvement and curricular innovation?

Declining Significance of Race?

“The only thing I say is that all schools should be quality schools. No one school should be better than the other… as long as they put the money into the schools, and put the right teachers in there, teachers that care about students.” (parent, African American, accounting clerk)

Tool for Diversity?

“This is not an all black world. It never will be… I’m for busing. I don’t care how they get us together, but I think it is necessary for this world to survive…We need to learn to understand each other in that we do have differences and those differences are important.” (parent, African American, homemaker)

Declining Significance of Race?

“I don’t think I would have thought much about it (a single race school). If I were happy with the school and happy with how things went, then I would be happy.” (parent, white, receptionist)

Tool for Diversity?

“Life is not a room full of Black people. She needs to learn...You cannot move through life if you are racially segregated in the school system…I don’t want them going to an all-white school either.” (parent of two adopted children who are Latino; attorney, white)

Tool for Diversity?

“We are not able to teach them the tolerance. And we are not able to teach them how to work with other people because we don’t have that to offer them. And so I hate it because I feel like we are doing a great injustice to the children because it is so unrealistic that they are going to work in a world like we have.” (principal, Jasper)

Press for uniformity, conformity under NCLB

“We have not been clear about what we want these magnets to do. We have not given them the freedom to be able to create the kind of schools they want to be.” (School board member, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, September 2003)

A new agenda for magnet school policy research

Diversity: a compelling interest? Defining a new role under race-neutral policies:

incubators of innovation Digital divides (choice as privileged activity) Density of choice options (role of magnets) Workplace: the new American neighborhood?