A substantial body of research has shown how white, middle-class parents in urban school districts use school choice as a tool to pursue educational advantages for their children. The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine the debate over neighborhood schools and school choice among a diverse group of parents in a gentrifying, yet…

In 2013, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) adopted the Home-Based Student Assignment Policy (HBSAP), which replaced elementary and middle-school choice within three large geographic zones with an algorithm that generates a choice basket of schools for each address based on proximity to the student's home and a guarantee that all baskets will include…

This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public housing designs) shape parents' social interactions and social networks? To answer this question, we interviewed families residing in a HOPE VI neighborhood and an adjacent Section 8 apartment complex, all of whom had at least one child attending the…

Using student-level data from Durham, North Carolina, we examine the potential impact of school choice programs on the peer environments of students who remain in their geographically assigned schools. We examine whether the likelihood of opting out of one's geographically assigned school differs across groups and compare the actual peer…

On October 4, 2007, a trial level court in New Jersey dismissed "Crawford v. Davy", a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 60,000 schoolchildren throughout the state seeking the court's authority to leave schools that fail to educate their students. By filing suit, plaintiff schoolchildren had hoped to be transferred to an alternative…

Discusses possibilities for re-conceptualizing new mental models for principals regarding the back-to-the-neighborhoods movement. While the old lens for viewing community relationships emphasized boundary maintenance (bridging and buffering), the new lens builds on shared revitalization or co-production, offering a centered politics of place and…

Events in the 10-year debate over school closings in Seattle, Washington, are chronicled. The Seattle Board of Education attempted to close 18 schools but had to reshape its policies in the face of massive community opposition. The need for efficient property management is stressed. (PP)