America's Racially Diverse Suburbs: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

provided superior support with the data, mapping and editing, as usual. Thanks also to Cynthia Huff and Valerie Figlmiller of the University of Minnesota Law School and Kathy Graves for their excellent work on the press releases and their comments on the paper. All opinions and any remaining errors in the paper, of course, are the responsibility of the authors alone. Finally, we want to thank the Ford Foundation and the McKnight Foundation for their ongoing support of our work.

A longitudinal analysis of the effects of open enrollment on equity and academic achievement: Evidence from Minneapolis, Minnesota

“…Urban schools had higher concentrations of students living in poverty (37%); by comparison, suburban schools had smaller concentrations of students living in poverty (14%). Minnesota's school choice options are not immune to this trend (Orfield & Luce, 2012). It was argued that students who utilized school choice were more likely to be low-income and students of color than their traditional school counterparts.…”

“…Although open enrollment is a promising tool to improve educational outcomes for poor and/or minority students, some studies have argued that the open enrollment system does not function equitably (Orfield & Luce, 2012;Witte et al, 2008). White or higher-income students, for example, have been more likely to leave urban schools than students of color or low-income students (Chapman & AntropGonzalez, 2011;Orfield & Luce, 2012) via open enrollment.…”

“…White or higher-income students, for example, have been more likely to leave urban schools than students of color or low-income students (Chapman & AntropGonzalez, 2011;Orfield & Luce, 2012) via open enrollment. Orfield and Luce's study, thus, pointed out that utilization of open enrollment for "white flight" deepened racial/economic segregation among schools with a lack of educational resources.…”

“…Orfield and Luce's study, thus, pointed out that utilization of open enrollment for "white flight" deepened racial/economic segregation among schools with a lack of educational resources. In addition, students of color are disproportionately represented in school choice options, suggesting that these options are not functioning equitability (Orfield & Luce, 2012;Witte et al, 2008). Since assuring equity in educational resources (i.e., student-teacher ratio, teacher quality, racial/ethnic minority student ratio, and free/reduced lunch rate) plays a key role in narrowing the achievement gaps, racial and ethnic inequalities remain the same across the nation (Lee, 2004: Valencia, Valenzuela, Sloan, & Foley, 2004, examining the characteristics of students who utilize school choice can address the extent to which urban student groups have access to racially integrated schools and resources.…”

“…A few studies, in particular, argued that open enrollment was not functioning equitably across ethnic groups (Orfield & Luce, 2012;Witte, Carlson, & Lavery, 2008). It implied that open enrollment would negatively affect the equity of access to schools with abundant resources for ethnic groups.…”