New York City has the largest and most ethnically diverse public school district in the country. ​However, it is also one of the most segregated school districts as evidenced by ​recent data from the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs. A recent report​ illustrates that ​despite increasing gentrification in NYC, ​schools in ethnically diverse neighborhoods do not reflect the racial makeup of said neighborhoods.

​Families moving to gentrifying neighborhoods tend to veer away from sending their children to the locally zoned schools. As a consequence, the locally zoned schools remain racially segregated. In fact, the Center for New York City Affairs found that “at 59 elementary schools in neighborhoods that were at least somewhat racially mixed, student populations were more than 90 percent black and Hispanic.”

We believe that supporting racial and socioeconomic diversity is an important factor in reducing the achievement gap for Black and Latino youth in NYC public schools. Click here to read the New York Times’ piece and click here to read the release by the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs. Then, head over to our Twitter or Facebook and let us know what you think!