Harvard Education PR The Resegregation of Suburban Schools: A Hidden Crisis in American Education

“The United States today is a suburban nation that thinks of race as an urban issue, and often assumes that it has been largely solved,” write the editors of this groundbreaking and passionately argued book. They show that the locus of racial and ethnic transformation is now clearly suburban and illustrate patterns of demographic change in the suburbs with a series of rich case studies.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The book concludes by considering what kinds of strategies school officials and community leaders can pursue at all levels to improve opportunities for suburban low-income students and students of colour, and what ways address the challenges associated with demographic change. From the Back Cover <div>In this groundbreaking and passionately argued book, Erica Frankenburg, Gary Orfield, and their colleagues show that the locus of racial and ethnic transformation in American schools is now clearly suburban. The book illustrates patterns of demographic change and considers how school officials and community leaders can improve opportunities for suburban low-income students and students of color.<br><br> &#8220;The suburbanization of American poverty is one of the most significant trends of recent times, and yet school systems are largely unprepared. Erica Frankenberg and Gary Orfield have assembled a terrific group of scholars who document growing school segregation and also outline some constructive and hopeful solutions. This is a compelling and important book.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Richard D. Kahlenberg</b>, senior fellow, The Century Foundation<br><br> &#8220;This important new volume explains why so much received wisdom about suburbia is simply wrong, why the front lines of educational opportunity and also of social and political change in our country lie in our increasingly diverse and unequal suburbs, and what kinds of policies and practices are urgently needed. A must-read not only for education specialists, but for planners and policy makers concerned about community vitality.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Xavier De Souza Briggs</b>, associate professor of sociology and planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br><br> &#8220;Erica Frankenberg and Gary Orfield make a compelling case that America&#8217;s racial and economic future will be determined in the hallways of suburban schools and on the streets of the communities they serve. Drawing on case studies of major metropolitan areas, this work makes clear that the problem is national in scope. The book is a call to action for educators, policy makers, and anyone else who cares about equality and opportunity in our schools and in our country.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Rachel F. Moran</b>, dean and Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor, UCLA School of Law<br><br> &#8220;Almost all Americans agree that children should attend school with peers of other races and ethnicities&#8212;and few Americans want to take any action to create integrated schools. In fact, our country may be moving backwards. Frankenberg, Orfield, and their colleagues perform an invaluable service to all Americans by showing just what our country is doing wrong with regard to race and schooling, why it matters, and how we can do better.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Jennifer Hochschild</b>, professor of government and African and African American studies, Harvard University<br><br><b>Erica Frankenberg</b>&#160;is an assistant professor in the department of education policy studies in the College of Education at the Pennsylvania State University.&#160;<b>Gary Orfield</b>&#160;is a professor of education, law, political science, and urban planning&#8212;and codirector of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles&#8212;at the University of California, Los Angeles.</div> About the Author &lt;strong&gt;Erica Frankenberg&lt;/strong&gt; is an assistant professor in the department of education policy studies in the College of Education at the Pennsylvania State University. &lt;br&g