Wither the Suburban Ideal? Understanding Contemporary Suburban School Contexts

• In Event: Charting Reform, Achieving Equity in a Diverse Nation

Abstract

Purpose:
America is primarily a “suburban” society and suburbs are on the frontier of rapid racial and socioeconomic change (Frey, 2001; Logan, 2003). While demographers describe the multiracial diversity and segregation between city and suburbs and particularly, between suburban communities (Farrell, 2008), other research suggests that there are many, not just one, type of suburban community (Orfield, 2002). Yet, recognition of how these trends affect suburban schools has largely escaped educational reformers. This paper analyzes the diversity of our nation’s public schools, with a particular focus on suburbs. It argues that inaction to address housing segregation in metropolitan areas has resulted in persistently high levels of residential segregation beyond city lines that has major ramifications for public schools.

Method/Data:
After briefly reviewing Census data, this study focuses on the district- and school-level enrollment change and segregation using data from the NCES Common Core of Data. In addition, it uses the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey to examine the demographic characteristics of teachers and exposure of teachers to students of different races. This study primarily utilizes the exposure index and concentrations of groups to analyze segregation in schools and districts.

Findings and Significance:
Combined, suburban students in the 25 largest metropolitan areas (MSA) accounted for one-fourth of all public school students in the U.S. in 2006-07, including approximately 30% of Latinos, blacks, and Asians. Latino students, now the second largest group of suburban students, have fueled much suburban growth since 1990. Likewise, the percentage of low-income students is growing in suburbia, particularly since the beginning of the 21st century. Additionally, the racial composition of suburban schools is changing, with the percentage of white students in suburbia is declining in each of the 25 MSAs. As minority students in suburbia increase, so too does their segregation from white students.

This analysis illustrates the complexity of understanding racial change and segregation in the 21st century in large metropolitan areas. In particular, examining the patterns for black and Latino students demonstrates how these two groups—traditionally concentrated together in urban districts— find limited opportunities to attend middle-class, integrated districts in the suburbs.

Since the time of the Supreme Court’s Green decision in 1968, school integration required not simply the desegregation of students, but also that of teachers. This analysis finds student-teacher demographic gaps to be especially prevalent in suburban schools in the largest MSAs. In all suburban schools, approximately 85% of teachers are white, 5% Hispanic, 7% black, and 3% Asian. The median suburban school in large MSAs has just over 6% of teachers who are nonwhite, and within suburban schools, substantial gaps in exposure to white teachers exist by students of different races. In other words, segregation in suburban schools is both among students and also between students and teachers.

This analysis contributes to our understanding of how demographic changes are transforming suburban school districts in the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Understanding the complex, changing diversity of suburban schools is essential to developing appropriate policies to expand opportunity for all students.

Author

• Erica Frankenberg, The Pennsylvania State University