Despite Good Intentions: The Segregation of an Integrated North Carolina High School, 1968–2008

• In Event: School and District Segregation: Persistent Challenges and New Possibilities

Abstract

In this historical policy study, we consider how and why a High Point, North Carolina high school that opened as an integrated school in 1968 transformed to segregated status by 2008. Relying on primary source data including school board meeting minutes and district documents, we present and analyze pivotal events. We found that the merger of the school’s host district with two others helped enable rather than prevent segregation at Andrews. Moreover, any good intentions represented in ongoing policy efforts intended to stem segregation succumbed to hard community realties such as White flight and residential segregation. We close by discussing the significance of our study.

Descriptors: Desegregation/re-segregation, school-community context, district policy

Authors

• Greggory Slate, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Craig Martin Peck, University of North Carolina - Greensboro