2016/03/27 by Alexandra Freidus · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Diverse Education Studies and Reforms #Parental Involvement in Education #School Choice and Performance
paper · doi:10.1177/0042085916636656
crossref issued 2016/03/27 · crossref published 2016/03/27 · crossref published-online 2016/03/27 · openalex publication_date 2016/03/27 · crossref created 2016/03/28 · crossref published-print 2019/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Middle-class, professional, and White families in gentrifying cities are increasingly choosing neighborhood public schools. As critical consumers of public education, these families frequently bring not only new resources to schools but also new demands. This article examines the process of “school gentrification” by analyzing the discourse of a neighborhood parents’ listserv. I find that as they worked to make their local public school “great,” advantaged parents performed the role of careful investors, defined themselves as the source of the school’s potential value, and marginalized low-income families and families of color. These findings raise important questions about educational equity for both educational researchers and urban school and district leaders.