The End of Consensus: Diversity, Neighborhoods, and the Politics of Public School Assignments is a 2015 non-fiction book by Toby L. Parcel and Andrew J. Taylor, published by University of North Carolina Press.
The book covers how the Wake County Public School System program to socioeconomically balance its schools was abolished due to the local political climate. The authors state that the voters in Wake County, North Carolina liked ethnic diversity but disliked year round education and a lack of school choice, and voters opposed those school district rules. [1]
Prior to writing the book, they conducted a literature review on the topic. The authors did a spring 2011 survey to determine how residents of Wake County felt about the socioeconomic student assignment practices, with 1,706 people surveyed. The authors also specifically held a focus group for African-American residents, with another focus group for White residents. Additionally, the authors specifically conducted interviews of Wake County-area activists and politicians; 24 such interviews were conducted. [2]
The first chapter describes how education influences the ability to advance in society and how educational segregation or lack thereof affects this trajectory. The school district's history is in the second chapter, and the end of the socioeconomic balancing is covered in the third, fourth, and fifth chapters. [3] A comparison between the Wake County district and other comparable school districts is in the end chapter. [4]
John R. Logan of Brown University described the book as "relatively short". [2]
Erica Frankenburg and Kendra Taylor of Pennsylvania State University praised the book's "rich account of the context of Wake County". [5]
Alexander Hyres of the University of Virginia wrote that the book serves as "a sound foundation and model for future scholars". [4]
Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the United States, with Cary and Raleigh being the 8th- and 15th-fastest growing cities, respectively.
John Alexander Logan was an American soldier and politician. He served in the Mexican–American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a state Representative, a U.S. Representative, and a U.S. Senator and was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President of the United States as James G. Blaine's running mate in the election of 1884. As the 3rd Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, he is regarded as the most important figure in the movement to recognize Memorial Day as an official holiday.
Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private-research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, has been located north of downtown Winston-Salem since the university moved there in 1956. The Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist medical campus has two locations, the older one located near the Ardmore neighborhood in central Winston-Salem, and the newer campus at Wake Forest Innovation Quarter downtown. The university also occupies laboratory space at Biotech Plaza at Innovation Quarter, and at the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. The university's Graduate School of Management maintains a presence on the main campus in Winston-Salem and in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Citizen Participation or Public Participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the public to express opinions—and ideally exert influence—regarding political, economic, management or other social decisions. Participatory decision-making can take place along any realm of human social activity, including economic, political, management, cultural or familial.
Logan Square is an official community area, historical neighborhood, and public square on the northwest side of the City of Chicago. The Logan Square community area is one of the 77 city-designated community areas established for planning purposes. The Logan Square neighborhood, located within the Logan Square community area, is centered on the public square that serves as its namesake, located at the three-way intersection of Milwaukee Avenue, Logan Boulevard and Kedzie Boulevard.
The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is a public school district located in Wake County, North Carolina. With 157,673 students in average daily membership and 194 schools as of the 2021–2022 school year, it is the largest public school district in North Carolina and 14th-largest in the United States as of 2016.
Thomas Harrison Fetzer Jr. is an American politician and lobbyist who served three two-year terms as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1993 to 1999. He was chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2009 to 2011.
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Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic access to resources and social position in relation to others. When analyzing a family's SES, the household income, earners' education, and occupation are examined, as well as combined income, whereas for an individual's SES only their own attributes are assessed. Recently, research has revealed a lesser recognized attribute of SES as perceived financial stress, as it defines the "balance between income and necessary expenses". Perceived financial stress can be tested by deciphering whether a person at the end of each month has more than enough, just enough, or not enough money or resources. However, SES is more commonly used to depict an economic difference in society as a whole.
Sonia Nieto is a Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, School of Education University of Massachusetts Amherst. With experience in teaching students at all levels and from many socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, Nieto is an author who teaches in the field of multiculturalism. She has won several awards in her field, for instance, the 1997 Multicultural Educator of the Year award from the National Association for Multicultural Education, the 2005 Educator of the Year Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, and honorary doctorates from Lesley University (1999), Bridgewater State College (2004), and DePaul University (2007).
In the United States, housing segregation is the practice of denying African Americans and other minority groups equal access to housing through the process of misinformation, denial of realty and financing services, and racial steering. Housing policy in the United States has influenced housing segregation trends throughout history. Key legislation include the National Housing Act of 1934, the G.I. Bill, and the Fair Housing Act. Factors such as socioeconomic status, spatial assimilation, and immigration contribute to perpetuating housing segregation. The effects of housing segregation include relocation, unequal living standards, and poverty. However, there have been initiatives to combat housing segregation, such as the Section 8 housing program.
The West End is a downtown neighborhood in Portland, Maine. It is located on the western side of Portland's peninsula primarily on Bramhall Hill and is noted for its architecture and history. The neighborhood is home to many late 19th- and early 20th-century homes and, in 2010, it was called "one of the best preserved Victorian neighborhoods in the country". The Western Promenade, a park laid out in 1836, overlooks the forests and small settlements of Southwestern Maine, along with the distant White Mountains. Other historic structures include 68 High Street, The Gothic House, Brown House, Butler House, Ingraham House, Morrill Mansion and the Minott House.
Robert Weissberg was an American political scientist and writer. He was a professor of political science at the University of Illinois and was the author of twelve books on politics and pedagogy. He published numerous scientific papers in leading journals in political science. Weissberg has also written for magazines such as Forbes,Society, and The Weekly Standard. He was also a speaker at American Renaissance Magazine conferences where he was outspoken about his belief in the average mental differences between racial populations.
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The Rise and Fall of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1907-1981 is a 1993 nonfiction book by Jeffrey Mirel, published by the University of Michigan Press. It discusses the rise and decline of Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in the 20th century, with the book's discussion focusing on the 1920s, the zenith of DPS, through the 1980s. Mirel argued that the Great Depression, various trends related to racial tensions stemming from the Civil Rights Movement, the development of new suburbia, and other factors were primarily responsible for the decline of DPS; the conflicts between blacks and whites and between labor and management eroded the consensus reached during the Progressive Era that schools should receive ample financing. They were forces that a school superintendent or a school board would not be able to overcome.
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