Race and Magnet School Choice: A Mixed-Methods Neighborhood Study in Urban Connecticut

1. Race and Magnet School Choice: A Mixed-Methods Neighborhood Study in Urban Connecticut Jesse Wanzer, Heather Moore, and Jack Dougherty Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Research Project at Trinity College, Hartford CT http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ/css

5. What questions can be asked with these types of data?

6. Part 1: Quantitative Research Questions 1) School quality: What is the relationship between magnet application rates and standardized test scores, for both the neighborhood schools and the magnet schools? 2) Geography: How do magnet schools vary in their level of “magnetism,” meaning the average distance they attract applicants?  3) Neighborhood race: How do magnet applicant rates vary across neighborhoods, and are they statistically representative of the racial demographics of each area? 

7. Part 2: Qualitative Research Questions 4) Neighborhood rate: How do Hartford parental rationales on magnet school choice vary in neighborhoods with high versus low magnet applicant rates? 5) Parental race: How Hartford parental rationales on magnet school choice vary by race?

8. Part 1: Methodology -- Data Pooled data from over 4,000 applications to 6 HPS elementary magnets in Spring 2007 lottery Includes student race, address, magnet preferences

9. Part 1: Methodology -- GIS Geographic Information System software (like ArcGIS) allows one to conduct spatial analysis of demographic patterns in magnet school applications or enrollments

10. Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding Link data to street map

11. Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding Geocode street address data as individual points on map

12. Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding Overlay neighborhood boundary lines (census tracts, elementary school zones, etc)

13. Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding Zone A Zone B Use colors to represent data groups

14. Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding

15. RQ 1) Magnet applicants driven by School Quality?  Modest “Pull” relationship toward high-scoring magnets

16. RQ 1) Magnet applicants driven by School Quality?  Modest “Pull” relationship toward high-scoring magnets Weak “Push” relationship away from low-scoring neighborhood schools

17. RQ 2) Magnet applicants driven by Geography? Wide variation across small city suggests that parents are not simply choosing a magnet based solely on geographical convenience of location

18. 3) Magnet applicants driven by Neighborhood Race? Hartford Public Schools: 41% Black (mostly North End) and 52% Hispanic (mostly South End)

19. 3) Magnet applicants driven by Neighborhood Race? Chi-square analysis comparing expected applicants (based on neighborhood racial composition) to observed

20. 3) Magnet applicants driven by Neighborhood Race? In about half of the city’s neighborhoods, Black students statistically more likely to apply if they were a racial minority (relative to Hispanics); similarly, Hispanics less likely to apply when they were the racial majority (relative to Blacks)

21. Part 2: Qualitative Research Questions 4) Neighborhood rate: How do Hartford parental rationales on magnet school choice vary in neighborhoods with high versus low magnet applicant rates? 5) Parental race: How Hartford parental rationales on magnet school choice vary by race?

22. Part 2: Methodology -- Interview Design Door-to-door interviews with parents of school-age children in four neighborhoods • 2 high-rate of magnet applicants • 2 low-rate of magnet applicants

23. Part 2: Methodology -- Interview Design • Current school and whether applied to magnet • Perceptions of neighborhood school and magnet schools • Demographics

24. Part 2: Methodology -- Interview Sample

25. RQ 4) Parental Rationale & Neighborhood Magnet Rates? No meaningful differences between parents’ views on schools in high- versus low-rate neighborhoods

26. RQ 4) Parental Rationale & Neighborhood Magnet Rates? No meaningful differences between parents’ views on schools in high- versus low-rate neighborhoods • Choosers expressed similar rates of “pull” motivations in both types of neighborhoods “The information that I got was that the curriculum was different, and they provide more programs for the children.” -Chooser from high-rate area “My niece goes to Hartford Magnet Middle School and it has a good reputation” -Chooser from low-rate area

27. RQ 4) Parental Rationale & Neighborhood Magnet Rates? No meaningful differences between parents’ views on schools in high- versus low-rate neighborhoods • Non-choosers expressed similar rates of satisfaction with current school in both types of neighborhoods “My kids are doing good there. Most of their teachers were my teachers. They take care of them.” -Non-chooser from high-rate area “They are doing so well. When you got a good thing going, why change it?” -Non-chooser from low-rate area

28. RQ 5) Parental Rationale & Race? Racial differences in talking about magnet choices

29. RQ 5) Parental Rationale & Race? Over half of white families rejected all Hartford Public Schools: “Never thought of it. I just knew I was never sending them to a Hartford school” “[My children] have always had a Catholic school education.” Racial differences in talking about magnet choices

30. RQ 5) Parental Rationale & Race? Over half of white families rejected all Hartford Public Schools: “Never thought of it. I just knew I was never sending them to a Hartford school” “[My children] have always had a Catholic school education.” None of the 31 non-white families followed this pattern Instead, close to half of African-American parents constructively criticized their neighborhood school: “There isn’t much that they do with them to make them really think and focus. So I’m just trying to find something that will challenge them more and get better grades.” Racial differences in talking about magnet choices

31. Conclusion: Our mixed-methods neighborhood-level analysis emphasizes how race influences the magnet school choice process. Based on our small-scale study, it is possible that magnet schools may not be reducing racial isolation, as originally designed. http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ/css