I am excited to share a high level overview of the research that Quanic Fullard and I led at Capital Impact Partners, on the integrated or "diverse by design" school model! Based on our interviews with the preeminent thinkers in the field, and based on an extensive literature review, we have outlined the benefits, best practices, implementation considerations, and next steps in supporting the model nationally.

1. School Integration Research:
Key Findings
Presented by Quanic Fullard & Emilie Linick

2. Agenda
• About Capital Impact
• Purpose of Research
• Methodology & Terminology
• Historical context & Current landscape
• Key Findings
• Proposed Next Steps

3. ABOUT
CAPITAL IMPACT

4. STRATEGIC PILLARS
Through capital and commitment Capital Impact helps people
build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success.
A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI),
we have a 30-year history delivering strategic financing, social
innovation programs, and capacity building that creates social
change and delivers financial impact nationwide.

5. FOCUS AREAS

6. DELIVERING EDUCATION IMPACT TO
UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE

7. RESEARCH
BACKGROUND

8. Objectives
• Understand the potential benefits and/or challenges of school integration
• Identify best practices of successful integrated school models
Primary research
• Conducted 9 interviews and attended 3 sessions
• Schools (Citizens of the World Charter Schools, High Tech High, E.L. Haynes Public
Charter School, Summit Public Schools, Blackstone Valley Prep Academy, Hebrew Public
Charter Schools for Global Citizens), ed/think tank orgs (New York Appleseed and The
Century Foundation), academics (Columbia Teachers College)
Secondary Research
• Conducted literature review (30+ articles/papers) on racial and socioeconomic segregation
in schools, benefits of integrated schools, best practices and policies
Methodology
Three month research project including monthly meetings to report findings,
synthesize info, and discuss implications

9. Terminology
Segregation Laws, customs, or practices under which people are restricted to
separate facilities based on physical characteristics
Desegregation Legal action to end segregation
Diverse Population that is representative of more than one social, cultural, or
economic group
Integration Use of inclusionary policies to promote social interaction of diverse
groups of people. Emphasizes attitude and policy changes
“[Integration] is the positive acceptance of desegregation and the welcomed participation
of [nonwhites] into the total range of human activities. Desegregation then, rightly, is only
a short-range goal. Integration is the ultimate goal of our national community.”
Martin Luther King Jr

10. History of School Desegregation
1945 Brown vs. Board of Ed: Supreme Court rules that separate
educational facilities are unequal; orders desegregation of schools
1957 – 1973 Strong federal and judicial commitment to school desegregation
1974 Milliken vs. Bradley: Supreme Court halts inter-district
desegregation plans
1975 to present Districts fight voluntary and mandatory desegregation plans

11. Current Landscape
“People understand why mixed-income housing is better than 100% low-income
housing. So we should understand why integrated schools is a good idea.”
Jon Rosenberg, President & CEO, Hebrew Public Schools
Public schools are more racially and socioeconomically segregated now than
they have been in half a century
• 1/3 of black and Latino students attend schools that are more than 90% non-
white. More than 1/3 of white students attend schools that are 90-100% white
• ¾ of students in 91-100% black & Latino schools are in schools that also have
more than 70% low-income students
“People understand why mixed-income housing is better than 100% low-income housing. So
we should understand why integrated schools is a good idea.”
Jon Rosenberg, President & CEO, Hebrew Public Schools

12. KEY
FINDINGS

13. Benefits of School Integration
Integrated schools provide long-term academic and social benefits to all
students and is key to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty
• Segregated schools negatively affect white students and students of color
• Black adults who attended integrated schools, in comparison to counterparts or
their own siblings in segregated schools, were less likely to be poor, have health
issues, or go to jail, and are more likely to go to college (UC Berkeley, 2015 study)
• Research dating back 50 years shows that socioeconomic make up of a school can
play a larger role in achievement than the poverty of an individual student’s family
• Benefits of diverse schools are not automatic - schools must work to create true
integration with intention and refine best practices over time

14. Benefits of School Integration
Integrated schools provide long-term academic and social benefits to all
students and is key to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty
Civic, social and cognitive
• Intercultural and cross-racial interaction promotes understanding, reduces
stereotypes and biases, improves critical thinking skills and creativity
• Increases ability to function in a diverse society and interact, negotiate and
communicate with people from diverse groups
• Enhances social cohesion, reinforces democratic values
Academic
• Equitable access to resources such as facilities, highly qualified teachers,
challenging courses, private and public funding, and social and cultural capital
• Higher student achievement and college persistence for minorities
• No evidence suggesting that white student test scores suffer

15. Best Practices: Curriculum & Pedagogy
Academics
• Avoid tracking programs
• Project based learning allows for meaningful inter-group interactions
• Data should be used to analyze sub-group performance
Professional Development
• Trainings on equity and culturally responsive teaching
• Recruit mission-aligned and culturally competent teachers and support staff
• Quotas for staff of different backgrounds
Discipline
• Restorative justice approach and low suspension rates

16. Best Practices: Student Recruitment
Intentional Site Location
• Naturally diverse neighborhood or attendance zone
• Situated on border of 2-3 racially or socioeconomically different neighborhoods
• Easier to encourage low-income students to wealthier neighborhoods
Weighted Lottery System
• Schools adopt a lottery system that weights applicants based on factors such
as socioeconomic status, parents’ level of education, or census tract
Targeted Recruitment
• 50% Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) is “sweet spot”
• Develop and review recruitment strategy annually, if not more frequently
• Promote diversity as a benefit to students/families
• Develop strategic community partnerships

17. Best Practices: School Culture
School Mission
• Diversity embedded in mission and/or a diversity statement
• All existing schools founded as diverse charter schools
Social Engagement
• Promotes integration outside of classrooms
• Build family connections through activities such as carpooling and playdates
Parent Engagement
• Promote power sharing between high and low-income parents
Stakeholder Feedback
• Stakeholder surveys (parents, students, staff) include questions on inclusion

18. IMPLEMENTATION
+ NEXT STEPS

19. Implementation Considerations
“Placing brown bodies next to white bodies does not osmotically improve the life
trajectory of Blacks.”
Professor Rucker C. Johnson, UC Berkeley
Recruitment
• State or city policy may not permit weighted lottery or controlled choice
• Recruitment practices and multi-lingual documents is resource intensive
• Monitor residential patterns to maintain diversity balance
School Culture
• Desegregation can lead to assimilation, lower expectations, disparate disciplinary
measures, segregated classes and tracking
• Maintain reputation as high achieving school for all students
• Provide additional support to disadvantaged students and families
• Easier to implement in lower grade levels and start-up schools

20. Next Steps
Impact
• Define new metrics to track broader impact of integrated schools
Lending
• Develop protocol to determine if school is truly integrated
• Develop business to integrated schools (e.g. members of National Coalition of Diverse Charter Schools)
Policy to Practice
• Present on integrated model at the National Charter Schools Conference (2017)
• Advocate federal and state support of integrated schools
• Explore relationship between high quality integrated schools and housing policies that shape residential
segregation patterns (links Capital Impact’s community development and education work)
“True integration, true equality, requires a surrendering of advantage…”
Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times

21. Stay in Touch!
Quanic Fullard
Program Specialist
qfullard@capitalimpact.org
(703) 647-2321
Emilie Linick
Senior Loan Officer
elinick@capitalimpact.org
(510) 496-2224

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23. THANK YOU.