Why racial inequities in America's schools are rooted in housing policies of the past

Systemic inequities in education have come into clear focus as our nation splinters over a global pandemic and racial reckoning. Yet, racial injustice has been baked into our education system since its genesis. We still can’t shake it.

Nearly 51 million students are enrolled in America’s public schools, but the system is far from equal. Segregationist policies, like school funding based on property values, are impeding the progress of those most marginalized.

American public schools are divided along economic and racial lines. A recent study shows that predominately nonwhite school districts receive $23 billion less funding than majority white school districts, despite serving the same number of students.

This reality is the aftermath of a system that systematically denied capital to families of color in the United States for decades, a practice known as redlining.

District boundaries based on redlining

The drawing of school districts is rooted in real estate redlining, a form of lending discrimination against Black families that began in the 1930s. Banks in the U.S. denied mortgages to people of color in urban areas, preventing them from buying a home in specific neighborhoods.

The government and corporations then diverted money and other resources away from these siloed minority neighborhoods, which they had a hand in creating. This meant a lack of funding for public schools in high-needs neighborhoods primarily serving children of color. The denial was by design.

My own educational experience was greatly impacted by this fractured system. Growing up, I attended eight schools across two coasts. I saw firsthand how economic and racial indicators affect education quality.

Now, at my work with Teaching Matters, we increase teacher effectiveness in high-needs schools to ensure every student has equitable access to excellent teaching, regardless of zip code.

Public schools across the nation continue to use a mapping system based on students’ home addresses to determine his or her school location. As might be expected, school quality tends to increase in proportion with a zip code’s income bracket. 

This is abundantly clear where I live and work: New York City, home to the nation’s largest school system. In zip code 10021, home to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the average household income is more than $115,000 and the population is 80% white. Public schools have an average math proficiency score of 84% (versus the New York public school average of 54%) and a reading proficiency score of 84% (versus the 54% statewide average).

For zip code 10035, home to another neighborhood on the island of Manhattan, the average income is a fraction, $26,000. Nearly half of the population identify as Black and Latinx.

Public schools in this zip code have an average math proficiency score of 24% below the statewide average and a reading proficiency score of 17% below the statewide average.

One way to undo structural funding inequity is to increase Title I funding to in-need schools. Title I funds target school districts with high proportions of children living in a family below the national poverty line or receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. These funds help level the playing field for schools systematically denied resources by a property valued-based funding system.

Title 1 funding is a necessity because our education system was built on property taxes in a country where decades of redlining made it impossible for families of color to build equity. It’s also critical to understand that, even now, it is not legal in the United States to actively integrate schools by race with federal funds.

This year prompted Americans to question the ways in which systemic racism affects their lives and their work. Through my decades of experience working toward education equity, it has become clear that Black and brown children have been denied comprehensive solutions to the property-value based school funding system.

Give teachers better support

To increase equity in our classrooms, we must prioritize school integration and housing policies that reduce segregation. We also must invest in better support systems for teachers in low-income schools to reduce turnover and burnout rates among educators. And we must adopt racial and cultural competency curricula in our classrooms.

It is imperative that we reckon with our complicated past to build an education system reflective of the future we want for our children: One where every child has equitable access to a high-quality education.

Lynette Guastaferro is chief executive officer of Teaching Matters, a nonprofit dedicated to closing the opportunity gap of a radically unequal education system through excellent teaching.