Charter Schools, Gentrification, and the Division or Betterment of Urban Communities
Abstract
Historically, under resourced and poor performing school districts hampered policy
efforts to revitalize urban working class neighborhoods. The housing market works
in tandem with the education “market,” with schools influencing and being influenced
by their surrounding neighborhoods. This study analyzes the possible link between
gentrification, or the rehabilitation of working class neighborhoods, and the rise
of charter school schools. Charter schools, publically funded but privately operated,
are growing exponentially under current local and national school reform policies
and provide alternatives to traditional neighborhood schools. Through content analysis
of newspaper articles and case studies on two New York City charter schools and their
neighborhoods, this study gains perspective on the relationship between charter school
creation and the changing socio-economic and cultural demographics of a neighborhood.
While the media analysis suggests that the perceived link is not widespread or heavily
reported, the case studies indicate that some community members perceive that the
charter school is related to the ongoing gentrification of the neighborhood. Those
who perceive the link are divided- while many view the charter school as increasing
the racial and cultural divide in the gentrified community, others view an emerging
charter school as a sign for urban cultural, economic revitalization and increased
opportunities for historically underserved communities.
Description
Honors Thesis in Public Policy
Type
Honors thesisDepartment
Public Policy StudiesPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9346Citation
Max-Macarthy, Ngozi (2014). Charter Schools, Gentrification, and the Division or Betterment of Urban Communities.
Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9346.Collections
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