A new report by Harvard University researchers Eric Torres and Richard Weissbourd digs into the reasons why most privileged White parents make choices that fuel school segregation. Most important, according to their survey data, are parents’ assumptions about school safety, quality, and prestige, as well as the fear that their own children will be ignored while teachers attend to students with greater needs. Torres and Weissbourd’s policy recommendations are not convincing, argues Andrew Grant Thomas. But there are hopeful signs that grassroots support for diverse schools does lead to greater integration.
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TorresE.WeissbourdR. (2020). Do parents really want school integration?Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports
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WellsA.S. (2019, March6). From one White parent to another: Don’t pick schools because they’re selective and mostly White. Hechinger Report.
