The Status Quo Prevails? Analyzing the Defunct Merger of Neighboring Gold Coast and Cabrini Green Public Schools in Chicago

• In Event: 34.050 - Boundaries and Borders: The Political and Social Context of Segregation and Spatial Inequality

Abstract

This project analyzes the public discussion regarding a proposed merger between neighboring but demographically opposite public K-8 schools in Chicago. The plan aimed to solve the overcrowding in one school and the underutilization of the other, while integrating the racially segregated communities. Its proposal sparked an intense debate among parents, educators, and community members. This study seeks to identify the basis for the merger’s stalling and apparent failure. It examines local politics among its policy entrepreneurs, community stakeholders, and school leadership, and the competing sources of power within the district’s governance structure. Finally, it positions the merger proposal within the historical backdrop of segregation and efforts to achieve greater racial and socioeconomic school integration in northern American cities.

Author

• Kacy Martin, Michigan State University