How Are Schools Integrated?

     When I think of integration happening in schools, the first thing that I'm inclined to think about is the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision of 1954. Although we are over sixty years removed from the decision that ended the race-based segregation of schools, we still see forms of segregation happening in schools today. The thought of schools still being segregated in 2021 seemed bizarre to me, until I began to think about my own experience in public school. I grew up going to school in a city that had a school district with nearly 50 schools in total. The school district has exactly 49 schools and they serve over 30,000 students of all different race, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. I witnessed the school district get away with segregation through the use of zoning to ensure that students of certain backgrounds went to certain schools. I watched friends of mine that lived in predominately white neighborhoods be zoned to schools that were much further than other schools in the district that happened to have more students of color. The segregation that we see in schools today is not the same type of segregation that took place over sixty years ago, but it still impacts educational outcomes for those attending at-risk schools. 

     So, how do we fix the integration issue that American schools are still facing? The lack of integration we still see in schools is unfortunately ingrained in the way our country's history and policies.  As a result, solving this issue becomes a major challenge, but I think a great start would be to find ways to ethically zone students. I'm not saying we should get rid of zoning altogether, but I think that there are definitely things happening in the background that negatively impact students of color that we need to address. Furthermore, we as educators have the opportunity to be advocates and work to change the laws. 

-Kristian Pogue 

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