A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools
WHICH SIDE OF THE LINE DO YOU LIVE ON?

In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that little Linda Brown couldn't be excluded from a public school because of her race. In that landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the court famously declared that public education must be available to all on equal terms. But sixty-six years later, many of the best public schools remain closed to all but the most privileged families. Empowered by little-known state laws, school districts draw attendance zones around their best schools, indicating who is, and who isn't, allowed to enroll. In many American cities, this means that living on one side of the street or the other will determine whether you leave eighth grade on a track for future success or barely able to read.

In A Fine Line, bestselling author Tim DeRoche takes a close look at the laws and policies that dictate which kids are allowed to go to which schools. And he finds surprising parallels between current education policies and the redlining practices of the New Deal era in which minority families were often denied mortgages and government housing assistance because they didn't live within certain desirable zones of the city.

It is an extraordinary story of American democracy gone wrong, and it will make you question everything you think you know about our public education system.
"1136077731"
A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools
WHICH SIDE OF THE LINE DO YOU LIVE ON?

In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that little Linda Brown couldn't be excluded from a public school because of her race. In that landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the court famously declared that public education must be available to all on equal terms. But sixty-six years later, many of the best public schools remain closed to all but the most privileged families. Empowered by little-known state laws, school districts draw attendance zones around their best schools, indicating who is, and who isn't, allowed to enroll. In many American cities, this means that living on one side of the street or the other will determine whether you leave eighth grade on a track for future success or barely able to read.

In A Fine Line, bestselling author Tim DeRoche takes a close look at the laws and policies that dictate which kids are allowed to go to which schools. And he finds surprising parallels between current education policies and the redlining practices of the New Deal era in which minority families were often denied mortgages and government housing assistance because they didn't live within certain desirable zones of the city.

It is an extraordinary story of American democracy gone wrong, and it will make you question everything you think you know about our public education system.
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A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools

A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools

by Tim DeRoche
A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools

A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools

by Tim DeRoche

Hardcover

$19.99 
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Overview

WHICH SIDE OF THE LINE DO YOU LIVE ON?

In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that little Linda Brown couldn't be excluded from a public school because of her race. In that landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the court famously declared that public education must be available to all on equal terms. But sixty-six years later, many of the best public schools remain closed to all but the most privileged families. Empowered by little-known state laws, school districts draw attendance zones around their best schools, indicating who is, and who isn't, allowed to enroll. In many American cities, this means that living on one side of the street or the other will determine whether you leave eighth grade on a track for future success or barely able to read.

In A Fine Line, bestselling author Tim DeRoche takes a close look at the laws and policies that dictate which kids are allowed to go to which schools. And he finds surprising parallels between current education policies and the redlining practices of the New Deal era in which minority families were often denied mortgages and government housing assistance because they didn't live within certain desirable zones of the city.

It is an extraordinary story of American democracy gone wrong, and it will make you question everything you think you know about our public education system.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780999277621
Publisher: Redtail Press
Publication date: 05/17/2020
Pages: 280
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Tim DeRoche is a consultant and writer based in Los Angeles. For twenty years, he has worked with clients in K–12 education, serving public-school districts, charter school networks, and curriculum developers. He has written for Education Week, the LA Business Journal, and the Washington Post. He is an alumnus of both the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the PBS Producers Academy. His first book The Ballad of Huck & Miguel—a retelling of Huck Finn set on the Los Angeles River—was an Amazon bestseller and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning.

Table of Contents

Neighborhood Pools xiii

Preface xvii

Part I Separated by Law

Chapter 1 The Promise of Public Education 27

Chapter 2 The Two Sides of North Avenue 31

Chapter 3 Educational Redlining 53

Chapter 4 The Jurisdictional Affliction 69

Part II People Do Anything to Get Their Kid In

Chapter 5 Don't Fence Me In 83

Chapter 6 Consultants, Address Cops, and the Price of a Public School 93

Chapter 7 Simple, Fair, and Open 107

Part III Location, Location, Adjudication

Chapter 8 Unlocking the Gates of Opportunity 119

Chapter 9 Open to All? 129

Chapter 10 Available to All on Equal Terms? 141

Chapter 11 The School Closest to Your Residence? 161

Chapter 12 Equal Racial Access to Schools? 167

Afterword Gloria Romero 175

Appendix A Two Sides of the Street 183

Appendix B State Laws 217

Notes 249

Bibliography 261

Index 265

Acknowledgments 277

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