Foregrounding Equity in School Closures, Mergers, and Co-Locations

• In Event: School Districts Navigating the Racial and Equity Politics of Education

Abstract

School districts are facing declining enrollments and subsequent budget deficits, which is forcing district leaders to explore closing schools. Most school closure processes conducted by districts are opaque to the communities they impact and rarely center equity. There is less research on how school districts could foreground equity in their process of making decisions about school closures, mergers and co-locations. This study documents the process and research associated with efforts to foreground equity when a district considers school closures, co-locations, and mergers. We discuss findings from two surveys used to gather input from community members about school closure criteria and the communication of those findings and subsequent decision-making processes. Implications for other school districts and research discussed.

Authors

• Ritu Khanna, San Francisco Unified School District

• Michael Leon Chrzan, Stanford University

• Francis A. Pearman, Stanford University

• Laura P. Wentworth, California Education Partners

• Moonhawk Kim, University of California - Berkeley

• Mele Lau-Smith, San Francisco Unified School District