Abstract
In this article, we examine how demographic changes in Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota between 2000 and 2017, including the resettlement of refugees, have impacted equitable educational arrangements in Fargo Public Schools (FPS) and West Fargo Public Schools (WFPS). Drawing on multiple data sources, including North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Common Core of Data (CCD) available from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and block group data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine city and district level changes in the years 2000 and 2017. We also conduct descriptive statistics and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to assess the relationships among Black student enrollment, performance on state tests and enrollment characteristics that include race and free and reduced lunch. Findings underscore the increasing isolation of students over time by race, socioeconomic background and language.
Highlights
Over sixty years have passed since the Brown v
Socioeconomic and linguistic shifts that have occurred in Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota and how these profound changes have affected educational opportunity in Fargo Public Schools (FPS) and West Fargo Public Schools (WFPS)
Segregation is still an issue in public schools, a fact that is especially problematic given that enrollment diversifying across the nation
Summary
Over sixty years have passed since the Brown v. Board of Education decision declared segregation in public education to be unconstitutional, school segregation continues to increase in the United States (Orfield, 2009; Orfield & Frankenberg, 2014; Orfield, Frankenberg, & Siegel-Hawley, 2016). Research since Brown indicates that segregated minority schools have detrimental short- and long-term effects on the students who attend them, and that most racially segregated schools enroll large shares of economically disadvantaged students (Fry, 2007; Linn & Welner, 2007; Mickelson, Bottia, & Southworth, 2008; Orfield, 2009). Public schools are becoming less White and the student bodies have become poorer, trends that are likely to continue (Fry, 2007; Orfield, 2009). These enrollment shifts generate questions of educational equity within the public education system
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