Diversity in the Distance: The Onset of Racial Change in Northern New England Schools
Author: Ayscue, Jennifer B.
Date: 2014-09-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Population Trends,School Segregation,Racial Composition,Public Schools,Enrollment,Low Income Groups,Urban Schools,Suburban Schools,White Students,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,Asian American Students,Student Diversity,Elementary Secondary Education

Northern New England, comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, has the opportunity to plan carefully and intentionally so that the region is not plagued by problems of segregation and can instead benefit from the impending racial change and increased diversity to create and sustain diverse learning environments. There are no serious problems with segregation in northern New England yet, and those problems that do exist are modest and localized. Therefore, now is the optimal time for the region to reflect on what has occurred in southern New England and the rest of the United States, which were once as racially homogenous as northern New England but have since become more multiracial and more segregated. Although northern New England has long been a predominantly white area of the country, demographic change toward increasing multiracial diversity is underway in each of these three states, particularly in metropolitan areas. In this region, as in the rest of the nation, this trend seems likely to grow over time, creating an even more diverse region in the future. This report investigates trends in school segregation in northern New England over the last two decades. First, this report summarizes several decades of social science research highlighting the harms of segregation and the benefits of diverse learning environments. The next section describes the report's data and methods. Then the report is divided into three parts, one for each of the three states included in this report--Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Within each part, is a brief overview of the educational history of the state and several prominent school districts. Then, enrollment patterns and several measures of segregation for the state are examined. After exploring trends at the state level, the metropolitan levels are examined in order to provide similar measures of segregation. This section also discusses the degree and type of racial transition occurring in the 10 largest districts in each metro. Following these three state-specific parts is a comparison of findings across the three states, concluding with multiple recommendations for those who seek to address racial change and the potential for racial integration in northern New England's schools. Summaries documenting segregation trends in additional metro areas also accompany this report. Appended to the report are: (1) Additional Data Tables; and (2) Data Sources and Methodology. [This report was written with Greg Flaxman, John Kucsera, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, and Gary Orfield. This is the seventh of thirteen in a series of special reports on public school segregation in Eastern states. These studies explore trends in enrollment and school segregation patterns from 1989 to 2010 at the state and regional levels, including various metro areas for each state.]