Bridging the divide
That research included a study of students in Montgomery County.
The 2010 study tracked students in public housing after their families were randomly assigned to higher-income neighborhoods through a housing voucher. Five to seven years later, those students significantly outperformed their peers, who had been left behind in public housing.
By the end of elementary school, the children who had moved out had already cut their achievement gap in half in math and by a third in reading.
Particularly striking was that the county was pouring additional money into its highest-poverty schools at the time, but integration had a greater impact on student achievement than the extra resources.
Another decades-long research study published in 2015 by Rucker C. Johnson of UC-Berkeley showed that blacks who attended desegregated schools were less likely to go to jail, more likely to graduate and more likely to pursue higher education. The researchers found that integration also had long-term effects on subsequent generations, making it more likely that their children would graduate from college, get good jobs and be healthier.
Researchers and educators say the effect of integration isn’t magic. Rather, they believe that middle-class parents bring resources and social capital to the schools. By advocating for smaller class sizes and more rigorous academics for their own children, they can help improve conditions for all children.
There is also evidence that all children — including white children — gain from learning in a setting with children of different races and backgrounds.
“They benefit socially and emotionally being around diverse populations,” Dance said. “They understand how to communicate. They understand how to collaborate more.”