Bizarre Boundaries: Rural School District Boundaries and Their Histories

• In Event: "Get Out": Disrupting Education via Space, Race, and Policy in the 20th Century

Abstract

This paper examines the history of one of the most geometrically bizarre school districts in Pennsylvania to understand the political negotiations that created its present structure. This paper builds upon similar literature by expanding historiographical approaches to understanding the nature of school district boundaries by examining the rural-suburban interspace.

Using historical archival documents, this paper examines the ways in which rural communities attempted to consolidate with the Easton Area School district. Through convolution of legal proceedings, public protest, and the intentional misuse of education data, these spaces were ultimately held captive to the joining of a more racially homogenous district, ultimately complicating the narrative that rural communities largely resisted integration into diverse communities.

Author

• Joshua S. Almes, Brown University