Julian Vasquez Heilig reports here on a new study about segregation and charter schools in which he is one of the authors. The other authors are Jameson Brewer and Yohuru Williams.
Here is an abstract of the study:
Abstract: We conduct descriptive and inferential analyses of publicly available Common Core of
Data (CCD) to examine segregation at the local, state, and national levels. Nationally, we find that
higher percentages of charter students of every race attend intensely segregated schools. The highest
levels of racial isolation are at the primary level for public and middle level for charters. We find
that double segregation by race and class is higher in charter schools. Charters are more likely to be
segregated, even when controlling for local ethnoracial demographics. A majority of states have at
least half of Blacks and a third of Latinx in intensely segregated charters. At the city level, we find
that higher percentages of urban charter students were attending intensely segregated schools.
Dr.Heilig writes:
We are honored today to release a new study entitled Choice without inclusion?: Comparing the intensity of racial segregation in charters and public schools at the local, state and national levels that examines segregation in the entire universe of US public and charter schools.
In its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 [1], the United States Supreme Court powerfully concluded that in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ had no place. Further, “separate educational facilities,” Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote for a unanimous court “are inherently unequal.” It has been over sixty years since the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown to abolish the separate-but-equal legal doctrine and Jim Crow segregation by race. Yet, since that time, courts have allowed de factosegregation to flourish [2]and, as a result, schools in the United States are more segregated than they were at the time of the Brown decision [3].
The resegregation of the United States, in contravention of Brown, has occurred as a result of judicial retrenchment, but also due to other factors such as lax executive enforcement and White flight [4]. Not incidentally, during the past two decades, schools in the United States have become increasingly segregated by race and class. According to the national data, nowhere is the problem more acute than in the nation’s charter schools [5]. While public schools have generally acknowledged the problem and have usually agreed to remedies to address segregation [6], some charter supporters have sought to downplay the issue, emphasizing the need to provide greater choice to low income and minority students as a means of achieving an educational equity in outcomes regardless of the racial composition of the school [7]. In fact, some charter advocates have suggested that racial segregation within schools is acceptable if that comes as a natural by-product of parental choice [8].
Fordham, predictably, has been spinning this–running pieces about how great it is for black students to have black teachers.
Wasn’t that the way it was in New Orleans before it became privately run by private charter operators?
Yes. Black students lost their black teachers when NOLA fired them & replaced the black teachers with white, young, unprepared TFA.
Is Fordham spinning the lack of diversity in its management team?
LMAO. Hey, this works for the occupant of the Whiter House.
Geez. A study was needed to show charters’ segregation problem? How about a spreadsheet?
The term “apartheid schools” sounds like an apt one for most private charter schools that exclude students that are different along racial and perceived ability lines. These private schools could have chosen inclusion instead of segregation. Exclusionary practice is common in market based education as private entities are more interested in protecting their brand than serving students. Segregation is the direct result of these exclusionary practices.
Dr. Heilig is starting a new job as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. I hope he will be able to make positive changes in his new position. Dr. Heilig is a real firebrand, but he will have fewer allies in Kentucky than he had in California. I wish him well in his new position.https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/julian-vasquez-heilig-named-dean-college-education
Yes! Thank you, Dr. Heilig, and success to you in your new position!
Is it not good for black students to have black teachers?
Is it not good for white students to have white teachers?
Is it not good for Asian students to have Asian teachers?
Is it not good for Hispanic students to have Hispanic teachers?
Is it not good for _____ students to have ______ teachers?
Is it not good for Protestant students to have Protestant teachers?
Is it not good for Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, Unitarian, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim students to have teachers just like them?
Brandon
Division is sown by the powerful conservatives who lead the ed deform agenda.
Paul Weyrich, founder of ALEC, the Koch’s Heritage Foundation and the religious right wanted conservative religion rammed down the throats of Americans in schools and legislatively-both federal and state. He wanted conservatism to dominate all American Institutions. His like-minded brethren e.g. Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society stacks the courts with conservative judges. Moscow Mitch is achieving their authoritarian goal through federal legislation.
Authoritarian regimes destroy democracy.
Read about the Weyrich training manual at Theocracy Watch.
Thanks for pointing those things out. I’ve been observing the far right (reich) wing since the mid 70s when I found out about John Birch supporters’ tanks supposedly stored in barns around northwest Missouri. Started looking into all of the various fundie xtian nationalist groups (almost always also white) like those you describe. And yes, they’ve been planning the xtian taliban takeover of society ever since.
It’s better to have students in integrated classes. It’s better for black students, better for white students, better for Asian and Latinx students, and better for society. If you think about it, there are so many reasons why ‘separate but equal’, whether de jure or de facto, is dangerously harmful policy and practice. Ask yourself this: If black students are segregated in order to have black teachers, shouldn’t white students be segregated in order to have white teachers? Doesn’t sound so good, does it. And don’t forget about the majority of black students who attend public schools and have their school funding drained by the segregated charters.
CUNY’s Academic Works, 9-2016, by George E. Tewksbury, “The rationale given by these reformers… without any acknowledgment that the source of their wealth and position is relationally connected to the disempowerment of communities of color and working class.”
Brandon, reference the New Orleans illustration offered by commenter, Dwayne, above – jobs taken from the black professionals who worked in the public schools of Louisiana’s largest city..
Been saying that CHARTERS ARE really about Jim Crow. See!