How Public Are Desirable Urban Public Schools? Theme Schools and Equity, School Choice, and Gentrification

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Recent research has examined how middle class families enrolling in urban neighborhood schools can divert resources from less advantaged students. Another related phenomena has been less examined: urban schools whose curricular theme makes them particularly desirable to middle class parents. While these schools (which can be charter, magnet, or themed programs within a school) recruit families who might not otherwise consider the public system, if they become highly sought after, they often increasingly enroll fewer minority and low income students. With case studies on prestige charter schools, International Baccalaureate, Gifted and Talented and Montessori theme schools, this panel explores the potential of these schools, the role they play in urban gentrification, and how parental privilege advantages certain groups within these schools.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 4: School Choice and Market Reforms

Chairs

• Molly V. Makris, Guttman Community College - CUNY

• Mira C. Debs, Yale University

Papers

• Too Many White Ping-Pong Balls: The Difficulty of Diversity Maintenance in Prestige Charter Schools - Elizabeth Brown, William Paterson University; Molly V. Makris, Guttman Community College - CUNY

• Under- and Overenrollments: Race and Place in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program - Kristi Lynn Donaldson, University of Notre Dame

• "The Real Problem Is the Lack of Diversity": The Social Cost of Segregated School Programs - Allison Roda, Rutgers University - Newark

• Minority Parents, Montessori Schools: Perceiving Cultural Fit in Theme-Based Public Schools - Mira C. Debs, Yale University

• Racial Diversity in Montessori Charter Schools - Katherine Elizabeth Brown, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

Discussant

• Maia B. Cucchiara, Temple University