Essential education reporting across America

School segregation / integration

A girl sits at a table in a school over a case of essential oils. A pair of scissors, paper, and other materials are on the table.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
NYC school admission offers are out. Here’s what the numbers show.
This year’s offer data shows very little change in racial and economic diversity, particularly for high school, despite seeing the biggest admissions changes.
By Amy Zimmer and Julian Shen-Berro
 
Students wait to enter the blue doors of their high school as faculty direct them on the first day of classes.
School segregation / integration School segregation / integration
A $10 million federal desegregation program is underway. Will schools apply?
A new school integration program is the result of years of advocacy but comes as some districts retreat from racial equity work.
By Kalyn Belsha
 
Students and parents hold signs on the steps at the Department of Education’s Lower Manhattan headquarters to expand the Gifted & Talented program. Oct. 14, 2021.
From Chalkbeat New York Politics & Policy
City education council elections bring polarizing national issues to local school districts
Opponents — and even some of their endorsed candidates — say one well-organized parent group is turning Community Education Councils into forums for right-wing animosity over issues like critical race theory and the treatment of LGBTQ+ youth.
By Safiyah Riddle, THE CITY
 
Desks in a classroom.
From Chalkbeat New York School Enrollment
‘This would be a closure’: Two Upper West Side middle schools fight merger as city panel vote looms
“When it comes to these small, close-knit communities that are so tight, it really does feel like you’re breaking up families,” one local education council member said.
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
Hundreds of high school students stand outside of a school building.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
A proposed staff restructuring sparks student protests, teacher concerns at a Brooklyn charter school network
Administrators said they were working to address inequities in their staffing model, though students and teachers feared the restructure would have the opposite effect.
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
Students sitting at a table at school working on computers.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
A gender divide: Why NYC students are unusually likely to go to a high school where boys or girls predominate
About 17% of New York City public high schoolers go to a school where boys outnumber girls by at least 2 to 1, or vice versa, a Chalkbeat analysis found.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney and Kae Petrin
 
NYC middle schools reopened on Thursday, Feb. 25. Students at M.S. 51 in Park Slope, Brooklyn streamed into the building, socially distanced and masked.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
NYC’s eighth graders receive high school admissions offers 3 months earlier
Thursday’s notifications arrived three months earlier than they did last year, as part of a series of reforms under schools Chancellor David Banks meant to simplify the process and tighten access to some coveted selective schools.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
The United States Supreme Court building is reflected in a pool of water as it stands in the background of the image.
Diversity & Equity Diversity & Equity
The racist idea that changed American education
50 years ago, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision was shaped by the racist idea that poor children can’t learn.
By Matt Barnum
 
A boy wearing a backpack walks down a school hallway with purple lockers, while a group of students walks ahead of him.
From Chalkbeat New York First Person
NYC high school admissions is overwhelming. It rewards parents like me.
The process kept me so busy that I had little opportunity — or incentive — to dwell on the inequities.
By Bliss Broyard
 
A student in a backpack walks up concrete steps toward green double doors at a school.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
Brooklyn principal leaves middle school after teacher complaints mount
M.S. 51 principal Neal Singh will leave to work for District 15’s superintendent. Pui-Lam (Jack) Chan, from New Utrecht High School, will take over on Feb. 1 as interim principal.
By Amy Zimmer
 
A person wearing an orange backpack walks past a brick school with a few other people in the background.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Tensions high at a sought-after Brooklyn middle school as teachers lose confidence in their principal
After a vote of no confidence in M.S. 51 principal Neal Singh, more than 40 teachers signed a grievance alleging a pattern of harassment of union members, the largest such grievance in union history, officials said.
By Tracy Tullis
 
An elementary class poses for a portrait in a classroom.
From Chalkbeat Colorado School segregation / integration
50 years after the Keyes case and busing in Denver, once-segregated Stedman Elementary fights to stay integrated
“The way I lead today has a lot to do with my experiences from the outcomes of the Keyes case,” Principal Michael Atkins said.
By Melanie Asmar
 
Two men and a woman sit on stage with microphones during a live podcast taping.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
LISTEN: NYC Chancellor David Banks shares views on integration on ‘School Colors’ bonus episode
The wide-ranging conversation touched on the definition of diversity in a multiracial and multiethnic school system, and how to incorporate the views of parents when their opinions and platforms vary so widely.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
Four people sit in chairs on a stage in front of a projected image
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
A Queens integration plan derailed: Join us to hear more from the ‘School Colors’ podcast creators with special guest Chancellor David Banks
Be part of the Dec. 15 discussion at Queens Public Library.
By Amy Zimmer
 
M.S. 51 in Park Slope is one of the most selective middle schools in District 15.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
A diversity plan revamped middle school admissions in Brooklyn. But some patterns proved tough to break.
Other districts could learn from what worked — and what didn’t — in Brooklyn’s District 15.
By Tracy Tullis
 
A close up of the top of the U.S. Supreme Court building.
Diversity & Equity Diversity & Equity
Supreme Court affirmative action cases could bolster attacks on school integration
Monday could mark the beginning of the end for affirmative action in higher education. The cases could also portend changes to K-12 schools.
By Patrick Wall
 
Teens wearing puffy coats and masks walk by a fence in front of a school.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
NYC has about 700 high school programs. Here’s what to know before you apply.
“Focus on selecting a school that is a good fit for your student and not whether it’s a ‘good school’ or not,” one expert said.
By Amy Zimmer
 
A brick gothic style school building on a sunny day in New York City
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
Manhattan principals urge superintendent not to bring back middle school admissions screens
Middle schools admissions screens existed at hundreds of schools before the pandemic, but were paused for the past two years.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
A student walks in front of a Brooklyn public school building.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
New NYC high school admissions rules could slow pandemic-era diversity gains
Some of the city’s selective high schools became more diverse after admissions screens were reduced during the pandemic.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
NYC_20221013_Banks_GettyImages_001.JPG
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
NYC schools chief criticized for saying some kids deserve top schools more than others
Chancellor Banks said students who work “really hard” should have priority access compared with “the child you have to throw water on their face to get them to go to school every day.”
By Alex Zimmerman
 
Students sit at a table with laptops.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
Tensions high as NYC soon starts middle and high school admissions season
Families across the five boroughs are already mounting letter-writing campaigns and petitions for and against schools that use screens for admissions.
By Reema Amin and Amy Zimmer
 
A white and brick building seen from a distance with trees on the edges.
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
NYC’s specialized high schools continue to admit few Black, Latino students, 2022 data shows
Overall, high school applications are down amid declining enrollment, but more students are getting accepted into top-choice schools.
By Christina Veiga
 
NYC_20220302_NYCSchoolsVision_ChristinaVeiga_003.JPG
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
These schools will host ‘gifted’ classrooms as NYC expands segregated program
NYC education officials are adding more than 1,000 seats, most of them as new programs that start in third grade. The city’s gifted programs are deeply segregated.
By Christina Veiga
 
A teacher in a checkered shirt looks at a student’s work while speaking to her at a desk.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia School segregation / integration
Philadelphia area schools among the most segregated in the country
The segregation is starkest for Latino students, a new study finds.
By Dale Mezzacappa
 
The exterior of a large white building with columns and steps.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
NYC education panel approves school funding formula after last month’s rejection
By Reema Amin
 
Fourth grader Christophe Afenutsu raises his hand and waits to grab the attention of his teacher Christie Kim at Roseville Community Charter School in April 2021. Recently, the Biden administration has proposed new rules on federal program designed to help launch charter schools.
From Chalkbeat Newark School segregation / integration
Newark area has some of the country’s most segregated schools, study finds
Black-white segregation rate is three times the national average
By Patrick Wall
 
A classroom with blue chairs sits empty.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
What the education panel’s rejection of NYC’s funding formula means for schools
The vote is unlikely to have an immediate impact on school budgets, but delays in approving a formula could hamper principals’ ability to plan and hire staff.
By Reema Amin and Alex Zimmerman
 
NYC_20220324_ConcourseVisit_MayoralPhotoOffice_006.JPG
From Chalkbeat New York School segregation / integration
De Blasio promised to overhaul NYC’s ‘gifted’ programs. Chancellor David Banks will likely shift course.
The new mayor and chancellor have indicated that dramatic changes are off the table.
By Christina Veiga
 
Students sit cross-legged on wood floors.
From Chalkbeat Newark Charter schools
New Jersey says it studies charter school segregation, but won’t share the findings
Advocacy groups are suing the state in a bid to make assessments public.
By Patrick Wall
 
An empty bench, bearing the Germantown Middle School name, sits outside of a school building.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Memphis district will sue if forced to cede schools to Germantown suburb, say officials
A bill before lawmakers stems from a decade-long dispute after suburban towns seceded from the newly merged Memphis district.
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
More Stories
Icon-heart-donate
If you value Chalkbeat, consider making a donation
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to providing the information families and educators need, but this kind of work isn’t possible without your help.
icon-events

Connect with your community

Find upcoming events

Events