Do Declining Neighborhood Economic Conditions Trump Hoped for School Renovation Renewal Benefit?

Carolyn L Grice,John W Hill,Karen L Hayes

doi:10.4236/aasoci.2012.22014

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine 1) individual student achievement, 2) teacher mobility rates, 3) perceptions of safety at school, and 4) student enrollment patterns, over time, in two recently renovated, same city, urban, No Child Left Behind compliant, Title I elementary school buildings located in close proximity neighborhoods one with improving the other with declining economic conditions. Achievement results indicated that fifth-grade students (n = 18) who attended a renovated school second-grade through fifth-grade in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions compared to fifth-grade students (n = 15) who attended a renovated school second-grade through fifth-grade in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions had statistically greater high stakes Reading Total and Math Total but not Language Total achievement test score improvement frequencies over time and statistically greater posttest-posttest Normal Curve Equivalent high stakes achievement test score comparisons for Reading Total, Math Total, and Language Total. Differing neighborhood economic conditions had no statistical effect on reported teacher, student, and parent perceptions of school safety or teacher mobility rates, however, enrollment in the renovated school in the neighborhood with declining economic conditions dropped significantly. We conclude that declining neighborhood economic conditions trumped hoped for school renovation renewal benefit. School closing policy and student open enrollment transfer options are discussed.

Highlights

During the past twenty-five years, an urban school district in the Midwest has spent 362 million dollars renovating the majority of its existing schools located within lower socioeconomic and impoverished neighborhoods of the city (Omaha Public Schools, 2004)
Research question #1 results indicated that fifth-grade students (n = 18) who attended a renovated school second-grade through fifth-grade in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions compared to fifth-grade students (n = 15) who attended the renovated school second-grade through fifth-grade in a neighborhood of declining economic conditions had statistically greater high stakes achievement test score improvement frequencies over time, second-grade to fifth-grade, for chisquare Reading Total X2(1, N = 33) = 5.241, p = 0.02 and for chi-square with Yates’ correction applied Math Total
Inspecting the chi-square lose and improve second-grade to fifth-grade Reading Total and Math Total frequencies and percents highlights the plausibility that neighborhood economic conditions can impact hoped for school renovation achievement benefit

Summary

Introduction

During the past twenty-five years, an urban school district in the Midwest has spent 362 million dollars renovating the majority of its existing schools located within lower socioeconomic and impoverished neighborhoods of the city (Omaha Public Schools, 2004). The urban school district recently constructed four completely new school buildings within these same areas. Within these renovated and newly constructed schools students learn (Kozol, 2005; Picus, Marion, Calvo, & Glenn, 2005) and innovate (NEA 2004; Polakow & Pettigrew, 2006) with parent participation (Bryan 2005; Epstein, Sanders, Simon, Salinas, Jansorn, & Van Voorhis, 2002) and community support (Crew, 2007). It is important that we evaluate and determine the impact of student learning in schools with increasing and decreasing enrollment patterns surrounded by economic improvement and decline and answer the question what is best for students: Should students stay in these schools or should students be reassigned to other schools by action of the school district administration?

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion