This qualitative study aimed to understand the impact of charter school expansion from the perspectives of former school leaders and teachers who experienced charter school expansion in neighborhood school(s). The charter school movement has been at the center of great debate and discussion in various educational platforms and political arenas.…

Detroit is a dynamic city with a dynamic history, yet it has come to symbolize both White flight (beginning in the 1940s and accelerating in the late 1960s) and Black flight (beginning in the 1990s and reaching its apex in 2000). While Detroit's Black population continues to decline, its White population increased by 22% between 2010 and 2015.…

Many school districts consider family preferences in allocating students to schools. In theory, this approach provides traditionally disadvantaged families greater access to high-quality schools by weakening the link between residential location and school assignment. We leverage data on the school choices made by over 233,000 New York City…

This critical ethnography utilizes critical policy analysis and a theoretical understanding of neoliberal racism to examine the practiced reality of school choice in a public, under-resourced, and historically underperforming neighborhood elementary school attended predominantly by Latina/o/x students. Despite improvement initiatives that resulted…

The problem explored in this study was the low achievement of third grade students on the English Language Arts (ELA) Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Assessment (PARCC). The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teacher perceptions about third grade students in one charter school who were…

This article examines historical context shaping the achievement gap while considering school choice. Students in low performing districts are often labeled as unmotivated or not achievement oriented. These assertions are upheld by citing attendance rates, graduation rates, and achievement data. This research article demonstrates that a sample of…

School of choice has been touted as a solution to the alleged decay of the American educational system. Every year more and more "choice schools" (charter, magnet, expeditionary, and others) open across the United States. Although these schools are subject to the same federal legal requirements as traditional public schools to provide a…

In Philadelphia, if a student chooses not to attend their neighborhood school, other options include schools with specialized programming in the arts, sciences, or business fields, schools with career and technical education options, and competitive magnet schools. But choosing an out-of-catchment school rather than a neighborhood school may…

In this dissertation, I empirically investigate the changes in the market structure after new entrants, and how these changes affect the welfare of market participants. In Chapter 1, using records for public and charter schools in New York City, I empirically show that public schools adjusted after charter schools entered the neighborhood. I…

We examine the views of low-income urban parents toward their neighborhood school. Policymakers must understand the attitudes of these individuals, particularly because they represent some of the most vulnerable groups in our education system. As national education policies have made it easier for parents to choose schools, attention has…

This "Equity by Design" research brief summarizes a study published by Waitoller and Maggin (2018) in the special education journal "Remedial and Special Education." The purpose of this research was to examine whether charter schools mitigate racial inequities evidenced in access to general education classrooms in neighborhood…

Despite the widespread popularity of both Dual Language Programs (DLP) and charter schools in California, little is known about the intersection of these two school models. In a quantitative study utilizing several statewide databases, researchers explored four questions related to DLP and charter schools: 1) How many Latina/x/o students attend…

Theory suggests that charter schools may affect neighboring traditional public schools either positively or negatively. Empirical findings are mixed, which may be due to variation in the policy context or estimation approach. Our contribution is in considering a new measure of charter penetration and comprehensive methodology. We combine the…

Safety is one of the primary reasons why parents report seeking out a school of choice in depressed cities with a high proportion of charter schools. However, little empirical research has examined how parents assess school safety in these settings. This study explores factors that parents associate with school safety in Detroit, Michigan by…

In this special issue exploring parents' responses to neoliberal policy changes, especially shifting notions of risk and responsibility, this article provides a historical account of local and national policy initiatives in the contemporary United States that have increased risk and placed responsibility for this risk on the shoulders of parents…