Lauren McLaughlin

Block 2
Ethnic Studies

Though Brown v. Board of Education ended segregation in schools in 1964,

segregation in schools continues to be problematic today. The state of Illinois regulates where
students can attend based on the district they reside in, test scores, or random selection of
lottery. Due to most students attending schools in their district, this leads to students that live in
neighborhoods with a low socioeconomic status to receive a lower education than others with a
higher socioeconomic status. Segregation in schools affects both white and minority student’s
academic achievement in a negative way. This epidemic has dated from the 1880s to present.
(History.com)
If segregated school systems is related to socioeconomic status, then the lower
the status in the neighboring area the more segregated the school. Students that live in low
poverty areas are most likely to attend a poverty stricken school, which results in a low quality
education. The better your financial state the higher level of education you will receive. For
example in Chicago there are urban areas where the socioeconomic status is low, schools such as
Fenger High School. Fenger is within the 5% lowest performing schools of Illinois, with 98% of
black students and .8% of hispanic students and 97% of their students are low income. Compared
to schools such as Lake Park High School with predominantly white students, with no
underperforming students. (illinoisreportcard.com) This data shows how the community you live
in contributes to how segregated the school is.
The idea of separate but equal (segregated school systems) is making it hard for non
whites to be as successful as whites in school due to the poor education they receive in result of
their poor socioeconomic state. Separate schools became a basic rule in our society today.
Integrated schools will result in every person receiving the equal opportunities and equal
education. Payton College Prep, a predominately white school has no underperforming student
groups compared to CICS Longwood which has resulted in Longwood implementing “IEP” to
their lower performing students.. Payton College Prep receives over 3.5 billion dollars to
implement into their school systems which elevated their availability of resources compared to
schools in urban areas with low socioeconomic status such as Julian High School with not as
many as resources for their students. (illinoisreportcard.com)
Racial segregation of Illinois schools has been legally outlawed, but has still been legally
implemented into test scores, districting, and even the process of lottery. In order to attend a
flourish school such as CHAS located in a suburban you would be implemented into a lottery, if
you are not picked then you would most likely resort to a lower academic school. According to
Lindblom's school website, if you are not in their school’s district you have to take a selective
enrollment exam. Therefore, if you don’t get what is considered a passing score, you can not
attend. This limits students that received low quality education due to their living circumstances
from receiving a better education. (illinoisreportcard.com)
Although implementing integrated schools can result in whites not receiving the proper
attention needed due to non-white students in their classrooms which can result in whites staying
where they are academically, and non-whites having an advantage by learning from white
students, all races will receive the same education and equal opportunities as each other.
To reiterate, segregation in schools have been legally implemented into districting, test
scores, and even lottery. Therefore, it has caused a racial achievement gap, in other words, white
success v. non black success. This epidemic can be conquered by implementing integrated
classrooms so all races have the same opportunities offered regardless of their socioeconomic
status. This can affect the opportunities given by society and can also help elevate society as a
whole.
 Text Cites

“Illinois Report Card.” Illinois Report Card, 2018, www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

“United States American History.” United States American History, 2018, www.u-s-
history.com/.