Collection: How DC’s school boundaries shape housing and travel patterns
Students on school campus. stock photo from sebra/Shutterstock.
School boundaries and feeder patterns not only shape the lives of children, they affect housing, travel patterns, and can contribute to citywide segregation. A 2019 Urban Institute report finds that these lines create unequal schools not only based on race and ethnicity, but on staffing, discipline, and test scores. Moreover, across the US, these boundaries hew closely to redlining maps — the racist, New Deal-era federal policy that determined who was and wasn’t worthy of home loans based on race. Meanwhile, DC is poised for school redistricting in the near future.
Our limited series explores the history, current policies, and intersections between school boundaries and feeder patterns in DC’s public schools and land use, housing, and transportation issues.
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How schools in DC were part of a legacy of segregation
Here’s a look at how the educational inequity in the District was built on decades of formally, and informally, mandated segregation. Keep reading…
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How school boundaries and feeder patterns shape DC’s housing and education inequalities
For many DC families, picking a school for their child can seem like a “high-stakes, zero-sum” game, where many students, and neighborhoods, are left behind in the process. Keep reading…
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The ripple effects of how – and if – kids are able to commute safely to school
Students in wards 7 and 8 face longer commutes and community violence that may be affecting their safety, truancy, and school choice. Keep reading…
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What experts say needs to be done to disrupt historic patterns of segregation in DC’s schools
As DC schools continue to struggle to disrupt historic patterns of segregation, experts weigh in on what can be done to improve students’ lives as debates over school boundary redistricting loom. Keep reading…
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DC’s school boundary review could advance equity, advocates say
The school boundary review process can help the District democratize access to in-demand schools and mitigate crowding, experts say, but shuffling students around doesn’t address a fundamental lack of resources in underserved areas. Keep reading…