Advocating for Integrated Schools in New York City and New York State
Nowhere is New York City’s geography of unequal opportunity more pronounced than in its public school system. New York City has one of the most segregated school systems in the nation, and where a child lives largely determines her level of access to educational resources in elementary and middle schools.
An overwhelming body of research makes it clear that the most reliable and cost-effective strategy for expanding access to educational opportunity in the 21st century is racial and socioeconomic integration. Just as importantly, research demonstrates that parents in New York City want diverse schools to prepare their children for an increasingly diverse nation and workforce. New York Appleseed and its partners are working with students, parents, and communities to lay out positive steps for reducing segregation in New York City’s community school districts.
In partnership with Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe, New York Appleseed has advanced the cause of school integration over the last ten years with its groundbreaking initiatives. The most recent reports and briefings are listed here:
Older reports can be found below:
- Supporting Real Integration: Evidence for What’s Necessary (2018)
- Laundry City (2018)
- New York Appleseed Statement on Set-Aside Admissions Plans for Individual Schools (2017).
- Research on resource disparities among New York City’s segregated schools (2016)
- The School Diversity Pilot Program (2015) and its subsequent expansion to scores of public schools
- The School Diversity Accountability Act (2015)
- The New York State Socioeconomic Integration Pilot Program (2014)
- Within Our Reach series of policy briefings (2013-14)
- The PS 133 Student-Assignment Plan (2013)
- Fact sheet on the benefits of diversity in schools (2012)
In addition to our own reports and briefings, this page contains other resources of interest to communities and policy makers:
- Link to Integrated Classrooms, Inclusive Enrichment Infographic
- Link to the New York Times article finding New York City the third most segregated school district in the nation (2012)
- Link to the UCLA Civil Right’s Project report on segregation in New York State (2014)
- Link to charts from the IBO charting school-segregation levels between 2001 and 2010
New York Appleseed is a member of the National Coalition on School Diversity, which has excellent research briefs on key topics in the field of school integration.
Advocating for Integrated Communities in New York City and New York State
- Advocating for comprehensive planning for New York City with the Thriving Communities Coalition
- Participating in and commenting on the City’s Where We Live NYC process.
- Collaborating with the Fair Housing Justice Center
- Advocating for a statewide law to prohibit landlord discrimination based on source of income with #BanIncomeBiasNY
- Advocating for attention to student-assignment in the City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing law (2015)
- Preserving access to high-opportunity neighborhoods (2013)
News & Notes
On our News & Notes blog we keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in our work.
Past Work
New York Appleseed today advocates for integrated schools and communities. Earlier in its history, as a program of the Appleseed Foundation, the New York office made significant contributions in a number of other fields, including access to the New York State Earned Income Tax Credit, consumer debt, health care, and others areas.