Boundary Matters: Uncovering the Hidden History of New York City’s School Subdistrict Lines

Abstract

This article traces the spatial history of New York City’s geographic school subdistrict boundaries throughout the 20th century, exploring the historical relationship between race, space, and schooling in New York City and beyond. It seeks to both make the case for studying the spatial history of within-district education boundaries and put the results of our historical mapping project into the public domain. Ultimately, we hope that researchers will use our data to explore their own questions about the history of New York City, its neighborhoods, and its schools, and that some may embark on similar boundary-mapping projects for other cities, counties, and school systems.

Drawn Into Policy: A Systematic Review of School Rezoning Rationales, Processes, and Outcomes

“…Departing from the debate on the size and shape of school zones and distance between neighborhoods and schools, some scholars (Diem, 2015; Frankenberg & Diem, 2013; Kafka & Matheny, 2021) propose the use of countywide districts with large geographical areas as an alternative desegregation strategy. Countywide districts are better able to maintain diverse schools because students are drawn from the city center and surrounding suburbs, contributing to greater school integration.…”

“…District boundaries that divide students into separate school systems became increasingly relevant after Milliken v. Bradley (1974) made interdistrict, city–suburban desegregation much more difficult (Thompson Dorsey, 2013). Though we focus on intradistrict SABs in this review, we acknowledge that district boundaries continue to play an important role in school segregation (Kafka & Matheny, 2021). Both district and school attendance boundaries interact with ongoing residential segregation by race, even as cities and regions have become far more racially and ethnically diverse (Frey, 2020; Knudsen & Tegeler, 2021).…”

“…These include research on school desegregation (Dumas, 2016;Fiel, 2015;Frankenberg, 2017;Holzman, 2012;Ladson-Billings, 2006;Milner et al, 2016;M. Orfield & Luce, 2010); neighborhood and school inequality, including spatial and geographic inequalities (Carter & Welner, 2013;Kafka & Matheny, 2021;Lewis & Diamond, 2015;powell, 2005;Tate, 2008;Welsh, 2019); and neighborhood effects studies (Chetty et al, 2016;Sharkey & Faber, 2014). Rezoning is also explored in the school choice literature as choice policies enable schools to draw from multiple catchment areas, disrupting how students are traditionally assigned to schools (e.g., Siegel-Hawley, 2014;Tannenbaum, 2013).…”

“…This research was supported by the William T. Grant Foundation (OR-201192).1Kafka and Matheny (2021) distinguish between school district boundaries (divisions based on distinct governmental units or tax bases) and within district boundaries (boundaries created within districts that divide neighborhoods or other place-related identities to determine enrollment). In this article, we primarily focus on within district boundaries.2 We use school attendance zones and school attendance boundaries interchangeably in deference to mixed uses of the terms in the literature and in practice.3 See Oliver v. Kalamazoo Board ofEducation (1972); Lawlor v. Board of Education ofChicago, 1972; Johnson v. San Francisco Unified School Dist.…”

School Choice Algorithms: Data Infrastructures, Automation, and Inequality

“…While the school choice algorithm only deals with high school allocation, this allocation obviously follows the opportunities provided to students in K-8. While schooling in NYC is formally desegregated, it is common for students in K-8 to attend the school closest to their home in heavily racialised areas, as well as being able to choose other schools (Kafka and Matheny 2021). Hemphill and Mader's (2015) interactive maps suggest there is not always a causal link between school segregation and housing in NYC.…”