"Having That Place to Just Be and Not Separated by What You Can Afford": A Case Study of Socioeconomic Integration at an Urban Preschool

Schools in the United States are highly segregated by socioeconomic group. Segregation is pervasive throughout all levels of the school system but particularly prevalent in early childhood environments. Increased racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in classrooms and schools has been shown to l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The School community journal 2021-10, Vol.31 (2), p.53-76
Main Authors: Nestor, Ciara, Cavanagh, Andrew, Hamlyn-Harris, Louis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
At Risk Students
Child Development
Classrooms
Disadvantaged Youth
Early Childhood Education
Elementary schools
Equal Education
Ethnic Diversity
Ethnicity
Faculty Development
Families & family life
Inclusion
Language Acquisition
Learning
Mathematics Skills
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Parent Attitudes
Parents & parenting
Peer Relationship
Peers
Poverty
Preschool Children
Preschool Education
Program Effectiveness
Public schools
Race
Racial Bias
School Choice
School Segregation
Segregation
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic Status
Student Diversity
Students
Teacher Attitudes
Teaching Methods
Urban Schools
Young Children
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Summary:Schools in the United States are highly segregated by socioeconomic group. Segregation is pervasive throughout all levels of the school system but particularly prevalent in early childhood environments. Increased racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in classrooms and schools has been shown to lead to positive developmental and social outcomes for all students. The current article presents a case study of one urban programs experience integrating its tuition-paying and Head Start students into a single cohesive program. The programs goals in undertaking this initiative were to enhance the sense of community within the program by providing equal access to resources and to promote positive child development for all students. Data was collected by examining student assessments, surveying parents, and interviewing program staff. Key takeaways from this programs experience include: (1) combining programs with complementary theories and providing high levels of support to teachers can help to create high quality, highly diverse classrooms; (2) programs must address potential issues with integration early and by engaging stakeholders in open, honest conversations; (3) fostering relationships between children in classrooms can be accomplished by embracing the diversity in the classroom, but more targeted efforts may be necessary to create a strong community of families.
ISSN:1059-308X