Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Sociology

Journal Title

American Journal of Education

Pub Date

8-2009

Volume

115

Issue

4

First Page

569

Abstract

We examine whether student enrollment in nonneighborhood schools changes levels of racial segregation in public schools across urban school districts by comparing the racial composition of schools and their corresponding attendance area. This comparison was made possible by using geographic information systems (GIS) to link maps of elementary, middle, and high school attendance boundaries with 2000 census data, the Common Core of Data, and the Private School Survey for the 22 largest school districts. Results show that public schools would be less racially segregated if all children living in a school district attended their local, neighborhood schools. Similarly, findings reveal that private, magnet, and charter schools contribute to overall racial segregation within most school districts. Finally, while segregation levels in school catchment areas become lower from elementary to middle to high schools, the difference in segregation between catchment areas and the schools that serve them remains constant across all levels.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/599782

Publisher Statement

© 2009 by The University of Chicago.

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