Unpacking the Racial Hierarchy in School Choices

Unpacking the Racial Hierarchy in School Choices

Author: Andrew Lefkowits, Val Brown, Courtney Mykytyn April 13, 2022 Duration: 1:07:40
Dr. Chantal A. Hailey (http://chantalahailey.com/) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/sociology/) at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research is at the intersections of race and ethnicity, stratification, urban sociology, education, and criminology. She is particularly interested in how micro decision-making contributes to larger macro segregation and stratification patterns and how racism creates, sustains, and exacerbates racial, educational, and socioeconomic inequality. Her recent paper, Racial Preferences for Schools: Evidence from an Experiment with White, Black, Latinx, and Asian Parents and Students uses the New York City High School Admissions Process as a case study to understand how individual choices are shaped by race and racism. Employing experimental and quantitative methods, her study reveals the various ways that the racial demographics of a school influence the perceived desirability of that school across racial identities, as well as for students and their parents. She joins Val and Andrew this week to discuss her research and expand the conversation beyond the Black/White binary. LINKS: Racial Preferences for Schools – Dr. Hailey (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00380407211065179?journalCode=soea) A NY Daily News OpEd about her research (https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-how-families-choose-nyc-schools-20220123-ovbbgtbt5zas7pshnvopac2kyq-story.html) No Choice is The Right Choice – Dr. Linn Posey-Maddox (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351031473_No_Choice_Is_the_Right_Choice_Black_Parents'_Educational_Decision-Making_in_Their_Search_for_a_Good_School) Original research from Chase Billingham and Mathew Hunt on White parents’ preferences for schools (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038040716635718) Join our Patreon (http://patreon.com/integratedschools) to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further. Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us – @integratedschls (https://twitter.com/integratedschls) on twitter, IntegratedSchools (http://facebook.com/integratedschools) on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s easy to talk about school integration in the abstract, but what does it actually look like on the ground for families navigating these choices every day? The Integrated Schools Podcast moves beyond theory into the messy, personal realities of race, parenting, and educational equity. Hosted by Andrew Lefkowits, a White dad from Denver, and Val Brown, a Black mom from North Carolina, along with co-author Courtney Mykytyn, this podcast centers conversations that deliberately sit with discomfort and complexity. Each episode brings in voices from across the spectrum-parents making tough school decisions, educators in the trenches, researchers, and community organizers-to explore why our schools remain so segregated and what it truly means to work toward integration. You’ll hear candid stories about navigating predominantly white spaces, confronting personal bias, and the small, daily actions that either challenge or uphold systemic inequities. This isn’t a podcast offering easy answers; instead, it provides a necessary space to listen, reflect, and engage with the nuanced layers of a deeply entrenched issue. The dialogue here is built on the belief that honest, sometimes difficult talk is a prerequisite for meaningful change, both in our schools and in ourselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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