Working Toward Equity in Suburban School Districts

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Despite their reputations for excellence, suburban schools remain deeply unequal. In this session, we present multiple papers that analyze how these districts respond to this inequality through equity initiatives. One paper looks at how three suburban school districts conceptualize equity, and the constraints on equity work that occur as a result of this conceptualization. Another paper looks at how one suburban school district’s robust equity plan focuses solely on racial equity, to the exclusion of other dimensions of inequality, like class. The third paper analyzes the current phenomenon of districts hiring equity directors. Altogether, these papers offer an engaging and important look at how suburban school districts respond to inequality through equity initiatives in various ways.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Leadership for Social Justice

Chair

• Kayla Crawley

Papers

• Bounded Reform in Suburban School Districts - Emily Handsman, Rutgers University

• Becoming an Antiracist School District - Nadirah Farah Foley, Washington University in St. Louis

• Understanding the Emergence of Equity Director Positions in Suburban Public Schools - Dayna Muniz, University of Pennsylvania