Economic Segregation: Challenging Ohio’s Schools

1. Economic Segregation:Challenging Ohio’s Schools Rebecca Reno and Jason Reece Research Associates Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity The Ohio State University Presentation to the 2006 Forum on Homelessness October 18th 2006

2. Overview of Presentation • Economic Segregation in Ohio’s Schools • Causes of economic segregation in our Public Schools • Consequences of economic segregation • Policy solutions to reduce economic segregation in our schools

3. Causes

4. Causes of Economic Segregation • The link between housing and education • Economic segregation in our schools is a direct reflection of the racial and economic segregation in our neighborhoods • Housing and school segregation also reinforce each other • Housing determines access to schools • School quality determines access to housing (through the impact on price)

5. Spatial Trends • Since 1970, African Americans have become less concentrated in Franklin County • But few African Americans have moved beyond the boundaries of the Columbus Public Schools since 1970 • What influences this? • Land use policy, exclusionary housing patterns, discrimination • This economic segregation also impacts many low income White families

9. Race and School Poverty This map displays the distribution of high poverty schools over the distribution of African American neighborhoods in Franklin County (similar trends are seen in other Ohio metro areas)

10. School Poverty & Race Average School Poverty Rate for the Average Student by Race in 2000

11. Consequences

12. Impact of High-Poverty Schools: School Quality • Ohio’s public school classification system: • Excellent • Effective • Continuous Improvement • Academic Watch • Academic Emergency • 94.4% of high poverty schools are classified in the lowest three categories • In no case in Ohio does a high-poverty school outperform a non-high poverty school

13. Ohio’s Public Schools: School Designation by School Poverty Rate 2004-2005 For Schools in Largest Six Counties

14. Test Scores for Ohio Schools2003-2004Non-High Poverty vs. High Poverty

15. Teacher Quality & Attrition Source: Helping Children Move from Bad Schools to Good Ones. Richard D. Kahlenberg. The Century Foundation. 6/15/2006

16. Impact of High-Poverty Schools • Inadequate funding & resources • Negative peer influences • Low levels of parental involvement • Low expectations, lower standards • Discipline problems • High student/teacher mobility Source: [1] Harris, D.N. (2006). Ending the Blame Game on Educational Inequality: A Study of ‘High Flying’ Schools and NCLB. Educational Policy Research Unit, Arizona State University.

17. Negative Factors Correlated with Segregated Schools • Academic • Psychological • Health • Economic • Employment • Democratic

18. Societal Implications • Economic segregation has broader impacts beyond just student outcomes in the classroom • Economic segregation fuels other large regional issues impacting the health of everyone • The link between sprawl/inner city flight and school quality • Concern about school quality is the primary reason for households who decide to leave urban neighborhoods • Economic segregation degrades educational outcomes (e.g. indicators of school quality) and influences the flight of families from urban school districts • Reinforces residential segregation in our neighborhoods

19. Cycle of Segregation

20. Societal Implications • Linked fates: Economic segregation produces underperforming schools, which harms everyone in the long run • Inequality is a sign of an economically/socially inefficient region, where proper investments are not made in human capital, and where much of the population can not meet its creative potential • The region loses its competitive edge in the global economy due to inequitable schools that produce an unprepared labor force

21. Solutions “The notion that all children perform better in middle-class schools than in poverty-concentrated schools is the most consistent findings in research on education.” -Gary Orfield Cited in Divided We Fail: Coming Together Through Public School Choice.

22. Factors that Impact Education • Home Environment • Health • Violence • Housing (Stability & Quality) • Parent Education & SES • Student Factors • Institutional Factors • Funding • Racial Segregation • Socioeconomic Segregation • Out of School Factors • Early Childhood Education • Community Engagement & Resources • In-School Factors • Curriculum/Pedagogy • Tracking • Teacher Quality • Student & Teacher Attrition • Teacher/Staff/Administrative Diversity • Special Education/Discipline

23. Overarching Education Policy: Economic Integration • Need sustainable reform • Because opportunities are distributed geographically, the solution must have the scope and breadth to disrupt the current arrangement • Schools reflect racial, ethnic and SES segregation of the region • Integration • By Race • By Socioeconomic Status

24. High-Poverty Schools Low-income students attending middle-class schools perform higher, on average, than middle-class children attending high-poverty schools Source: The Century Foundation (2004). Can Separate Be Equal? www.tcf.org

25. Benefits of Economic Integration • Increased student expectations • Access to social capital • Positive impact on cognitive development for ALL • Improved academic achievement • Schools better able to attract and retain teachers • Lower drop out rates • Higher career aspirations • Students more likely to attend college • Fewer incidents with police • Students less likely to become teenage parents

27. Achieving Economic Integration • District magnet/charter schools • Create high-quality magnet schools with academic, economic thresholds • Wake County Raleigh, NC • No more than 40% low income • No more than 25% performing below grade level on state reading test • Results • Black students: 40% to 80% grade level on standardized tests • Hispanic students: 79% to 91%.

28. Achieving Economic Integration • Suburban schools: designated vouchers/choice plan • Provide academic support, transportation • Connect to regional housing policies • Minneapolis Choice is Yours • Urban students are given priority placement in suburban or magnet schools of their choice • Participants outperformed their peers, with scores in reading and mathematics that were respectively 23 and 25 percentile points higher

29. Working Outside of the Classroom • Income and housing are two other points of intervention to address economic segregation in our schools • Income strategies: Improving the income/assets of low income families, producing greater housing choice • Maximizing use of the Earned Income Tax Credit, Minimum Wage Campaigns • Housing strategies: Segregation in our schools can also be addressed by expanding housing opportunities for low income families in more affluent school districts • Looking at Inclusionary Zoning and Targeting of Subsidized Housing

30. Moving Forward • Reframe the Issue • Education reform for the benefit of ALL students, not just those historically disadvantaged. • Equity AS excellence. • Maximize public investments • Reform for regional health

31. Moving Forward • Plan big, start small • Conduct ongoing research • Build upon successes • Extensive public communication • Regional collaboration • Extend beyond education: Housing policy is education policy. Any serious effort must be inclusive of both.

32. Questions or Comments? For More Information Visit Us On-Line:www.KirwanInstitute.org