New Jersey’s constitution outlawed school segregation nearly a decade before Brown v. Board of Education. But segregation persists. The UCLA Civil Rights Project says New Jersey is the sixth most segregated state for Black students, and the seventh most segregated for Latino students, in large part because students’ school assignments are so closely tied to where they live.
Some New Jersey communities have been trying to grapple with both racial and economic segregation for decades, with mixed success. Efforts to better serve and integrate in the South Orange-Maplewood school district go back decades — including the conversion in 1999 of the majority-Black Seth Boyden school into an “opt-in” demonstration school for multi-intelligence learning. Other moves have included “deleveling,” intended to increase Black students’ access to more advanced classes.
Yet the district has been sued twice — by the state chapter of the ACLU and then later a group of parents — alleging its tracking and disciplinary practices confine students of color to lower-level classes, and punish students of color with disabilities.
Those lawsuits have been settled, with the district promising changes. But a report by the Rutgers University Equity Lab in June found “stark” achievement disparities remained among student demographic groups, and described students’ criticisms about supports. Parents are threatening litigation once again.
Mary Mann, a co-editor with the Village Green hyperlocal website, cataloged the intricate history as part of the ongoing “Segregated” collaboration among New Jersey newsrooms, to tell stories about race, diversity and segregation in New Jersey schools. Her work draws on years of reporting along with co-editor Carolyn Parisi.
Mann spoke with WNYC’s Tiffany Hanssen regarding their findings – and an ambitious integration plan that’s currently underway. A transcript of their conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Tiffany…
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