The Emergence of Newcomer Schools: Their Growth, Characteristics, and Alignment to Migration (Poster 30)

• In Event: Promising Scholarship in Education Research: Dissertation Fellows and Their Research

Abstract

This empirical study examines the growth and characteristics of newcomer schools, as well as the association between newcomer school characteristics and student outcomes. Newcomer schools are specialized schools for children newly arrived in the U.S. with limited English language proficiency and interrupted education. To conduct this study, I constructed a school-by-year dataset for school years 1986-2018 that incorporates student demographics, student outcomes, school characteristics and quality indicators, district resources and demographics, and migration data. The dataset is comprised of data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), and the U.S. Census. The dataset includes approximately 80,000-100,000 schools per year and over 300 variables. Analysis uses contexts of reception theory to examine the classroom, school, and district level contexts of newcomer schools and the ways that these contribute to the educational outcomes of newcomer students. Initial findings suggest some misalignment in the location of newcomer schools and growth in newcomer populations, and statistically significant differences in school characteristics between newcomer schools and non-newcomer schools. Findings from this study can inform policy and practice to better align resources to meet the needs of shifting demographics and to improve service delivery and outcomes for newcomer students.

Author

• Elizabeth Davis, George Mason University