Local Policy Makers' Perceptions of Gentrification and Schools

• In Event: Who's Included and Excluded? Student Assignment Policies and Engagement Practices in Gentrifying and Segregated Systems

Abstract

Gentrification, an increasingly common phenomenon across U.S. cities, poses unique challenges for school districts. Scholars have begun to critically examine these challenges, including the role of gentrifiers and principals. However, less research has focused on policymakers outside of schools and district leaders together to understand the contexts schools operate within. This study uses qualitative methods to examine how policymakers perceive the relationship between gentrification and schooling. Using racial capitalism and framing theory, I analyze interviews and documents from one gentrifying city in the U.S. West. The initial findings suggest that policymakers and leaders use race to varying degrees in their framing, which impacts their conceptualization of solutions, view their authority differently, and identify issues of resource distribution resulting from gentrification.

Author

• Hailey Karcher, Seattle Public Schools
  Presenting Author