Commentary: The American Tradition of Inequality: Neighborhoods and Schools

• Published in: American educational research journal 2017-04, Vol.54 (1_suppl), p.190S-192S
• Main Authors: Lareau, Annette, Jo, Hyejeong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Educational Policy; Educational research; Equal Education; Ethnic Groups; Neighborhood Schools; Population Trends; Racial Bias; Racial Composition; Racial Segregation; Social Bias; Social Class; Suburbs
• ISSN: 0002-8312; 1935-1011
• DOI: 10.3102/0002831216678317

This article is a commentary on "Unwrapping the Suburban "Package Deal": Race, Class, and School Access," by Anna Rhodes and Siri Warkentien. Although guided by powerful ideals of equal opportunity, American schools are deeply unequal. As historians of education have taught, children of different racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds have traditionally attended different schools. As well, most reform efforts have had limited impact in eroding this pattern. Today, most American children continue to attend the ''catchment'' school where they live, and U.S. neighborhoods remain very inequitable. However, Anna Rhodes and Siri Warkentien remind the reader that the world is changing. While older, inner-ring suburbs are becoming racially integrated, the pattern of ''chocolate cities and vanilla suburbs'' is shifting. Recent research predicts that over a number of years approximately one-third of these integrated suburban neighborhoods will be transformed into racially segregated neighborhoods (often dominated by Latino/a residents), while others will maintain a level of integration. In this article, the authors think about how inequality can be reduced through educational policies. [For "Unwrapping the Suburban 'Package Deal': Race, Class, and School Access," see EJ1155304.]