Opportunity Gaps, Educational Triage, and the "Promise" of Federal Support

• In Event: 50204 - Navigating Bureaucracy, Policy, and Resource Allocation in Schools

Abstract

Through U.S. Department of Education Promise Neighborhood discretionary awards, the federal government is serving as an active broker, connecting schools and community organizations with funding and technical assistance from non-governmental and for-profit organizations. I assess four contextual features implicit in the design of Promise Neighborhood interventions which may shape the distribution of this federal place-based award: economic disadvantage, racial and ethnic composition, housing market characteristics, and health access. Results indicate that successful applicants and rejected applicants have statistically similar neighborhood profiles. Yet higher levels of economic disadvantage in the applicant neighborhoods, relative to their surrounding context, decreases the likelihood of award receipt, suggesting educational triage practices. If Promise Neighborhoods are not targeting the most distressed neighborhoods, those places – and some of the United States’ most vulnerable children – may be left at a further disadvantage, contributing to the creation of contemporary patterns of inequality.

Author

• Alexandra Cooperstock, Brown University