Meaningful Desegregation and Integration at the Middle School Level: Documenting Efforts in New York City

• In Event: The Persistence of School Segregation and Opportunities for Change: Lessons From New York City

Abstract

Objectives
Beginning in 2019, one community school district (CSD) in NYC implemented an ambitious “Diversity Plan” to make its middle schools more representative of the CSD and to foster inclusive learning environments for all students. In this paper, we aim to describe and document the factors that motivated this plan, the district’s desegregation strategy, and its efforts to meaningfully integrate its schools.

Theoretical Framework
We argue that for schools in this CSD to be meaningfully integrated, there are two important benchmarks that should be met. First, schools need to be desegregated--or see enrollment shifts to become more representative of their CSD--due to the revised admissions policies in the Diversity Plan. Following Parents Involved, however, school districts with an interest in achieving racial or ethnic diversity have been compelled to find race-neutral ways of attaining a race-conscious goal. Second, we argue that schools must foster inclusive learning environments where historically marginalized students are affirmed and supported (Lewis & Diamond, 2015; Lewis-McCoy, 2014). We focus on two school practices meant to facilitate inclusive learning environments--the implementation of culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy and restorative discipline practices.

Data Sources
We rely on three sources of data. First, we draw on interview data with educators and parents to understand the factors that motivated the implementation of this CSD’s Diversity Plan. These interviews were conducted in the spring of 2019. We then analyze enrollment records to examine how, if at all, school enrollment has shifted between the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 school years. Finally, we administered a survey to school leaders in June 2021 to gauge the progress they were making and the facilitators and barriers to their work.

Methods
We thematically code our interview data and descriptively analyze the administrative records and survey data. We also triangulate our findings across all three sources, using an iterative sense-making process.

Results
Our analyses point to three main results. First, we find that stakeholders in CSD 15 pushed for and implemented this Diversity Plan because they were interested in creating more equitable learning environments and outcomes for the district’s racially and ethnically diverse student body. Second, the district’s decision to require schools to set aside 52% of seats for students who are eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch, students who experience homelessness, and students who are English language learners successfully desegregated some schools in the district. Finally, we find that all middle schools in the district did make an effort to implement a culturally responsive curriculum. However, schools that saw increases in students of color were also those who were more likely to report focusing on revising their discipline practices.

Significance
This paper shows how district choices, in the aftermath of the Parents Involved (2007) decision and the COVID-19 pandemic are able to foster desegregation and integration in some, albeit limited, ways. Understanding the opportunities and limitations of the approaches used by this CSD can inform desegregation and integration efforts in other parts of NYC–and across the country.

Authors

• Zitsi Mirakhur, University of Kentucky

• Kathryn Hill, Research Alliance for New York City Schools

• Sarah E. LaCour, National Center for Youth Law