Integrating Schools in a Changing Society

As a result of tremendous social, legal, and political movements after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the South led the nation in school desegregation from the late 1960s through the beginning of the twenty-first century. However, following a series of court cases in the past two decades--including a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised potentially strong barriers for districts wishing to pursue integration--public schools in the South and across the nation are now resegregating faster than ever. In this comprehensive volume, a roster of leading scholars in educational policy and related fields offer eighteen essays seeking to illuminate new ways for American public education to counter persistent racial and socioeconomic inequality in our society. Drawing on extensive research, the contributors reinforce the key benefits of racially integrated schools, examine remaining options to pursue multiracial integration, and discuss case examples that suggest how to build support for those efforts. Framed by the editors' introduction and a conclusion by Gary Orfield, these essays engage the heated debates over school reform and advance new arguments about the dangers of resegregation while offering practical, research-grounded solutions to one of the most pressing issues in American education. The contributors are: Courtney Bell, Educational Testing Service Robert Bifulco, Syracuse University John Charles Boger, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Casey D. Cobb, University of Connecticut Elizabeth DeBray, University of Georgia Sarah L. Diem, University of Missouri Jacquelyn Duran, Columbia University Erica Frankenberg, Pennsylvania State University Patricia Gandara, University of California, Los Angeles Ellen Goldring, Vanderbilt University Willis D. Hawley, Univer¬sity of Maryland Jennifer Jellison Holme, University of Texas at Austin Eric A. Houck, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Emory University Richard D. Kahlenberg, The Century Foundation Chinh Q. Le, New Jersey Division on Civil Rights Katherine Cumings Mansfield, University of Texas at Austin Gary Orfield, University of California, Los Angeles Myron Orfield, University of Minnesota Douglas D. Ready, Columbia University Sean F. Reardon, Stanford University Lori Rhodes, Stanford University Janelle Scott, University of California, Berkeley Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, University of California, Los Angeles Megan R. Silander, Columbia University Claire Smrekar, Vanderbilt University Amy Stuart Wells, Columbia University Sheneka Williams, University of Georgia Terrenda White, Columbia University |In this comprehensive volume, a roster of leading scholars in educational policy and related fields offer eighteen essays seeking to illuminate new ways for American public education to counter persistent racial and socioeconomic inequality in our society. Drawing on extensive research, the contributors reinforce the key benefits of racially integrated schools, examine remaining options to pursue multiracial integration, and discuss case examples that suggest how to build support for those efforts.