Shuttering Schools in the Gateway City: School District Viability and Black Community Relations after Mass K-12 School Closures in St. Louis, Mo

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  • Author(s): Duncan-Shippy, Ebony M.
  • Language:
    English
  • Source:
    Peabody Journal of Education. 2023 98(2):223-249.
  • Publication Date:
    2023
  • Document Type:
    Journal Articles
    Reports - Evaluative
  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      27
    • Education Level:
      Elementary Secondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Elementary Secondary Education; School Closing; School Districts; School Community Relationship; African Americans; Public Schools; Social Influences; Educational Change; Desegregation Effects; School Desegregation; Charter Schools; Educational Policy; Minority Groups; Declining Enrollment; Neighborhoods; African American Students
    • Subject Terms:
      Missouri (Saint Louis)
    • Accession Number:
      10.1080/0161956X.2023.2191569
    • ISSN:
      0161-956X
      1532-7930
    • Abstract:
      Since 1990, over 40% of schools have closed in the St. Louis Public Schools District (SLPSD) because of steep enrollment decline. Tracing educational trends over 30 years, I examine when, where, and why K-12 public schools closed in St. Louis in order to highlight the social conditions and policy decisions that contract contemporary urban education. I ask: What key social factors influence K-12 school closure patterns in St. Louis, Missouri? This mixed methods study summarizes analyses of data from the U.S. Department of Education, the St. Louis Public Schools District, and local news coverage to describe trends, determinants, and consequences of K-12 public school closures in St. Louis, Missouri (1990-2020). Findings demonstrated that closures in the city district were concentrated in majority-Black neighborhoods, with limited evidence of benefits to youth and communities. Findings also indicated that attempts to create educational change through the desegregation transfers program, charter school expansion, and administrative restructuring all triggered waves of closures. Drawing from community relations perspectives, I interpret mass closures as racialized policy practices that strain Black community relations and contract city districts. I argue that recurrent closures undermine youth and community development and disengage Black communities in ways that threaten district viability. Conclusions weigh whether the closure practices in the district have caused irreparable damage to Black community relations or if new policy objectives can foster long-term growth.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2023
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1388637