Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Reducing Segregation: Answers Lie in Socioeconomics, Not Charters

August 24, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Susan Eaton and Gina Chirichigno’s recent online Commentary “Create Charter Schools That Reduce Segregation” (Aug. 6, 2009) serves as an important reminder of the part education has played in furthering racial integration in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, and a host of policy wonks and school chiefs tell us that “education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” But we should remember that it was also the civil rights issue of the civil rights era.

There is reason that de jure segregation ended with an education court case, and that the civil rights era is symbolized by nine black students entering an Arkansas high school under armed guard. When we envision a right to education purely in terms of test scores and economic opportunity, we sell out the ideals of the pioneering civil rights activists who began the fight for equal educational opportunity.

Ms. Eaton and Ms. Chirichigno, though, seem to have forgotten about the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, which effectively bans voluntary integration plans in publicly financed schools. The authors, and policymakers in general, would do well to look toward socioeconomic integration as a more viable, and perhaps preferable, alternative.

David Noah

Brooklyn, N.Y.

A version of this article appeared in the August 26, 2009 edition of Education Week as Reducing Segregation: Answers Lie In Socioeconomics, Not Charters

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read