Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Report: New York Schools Are The Most Segregated In The U.S.
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 26, 2014
Modified Mar 26, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 26, 2014
Modified Mar 26, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Affirming what studies have shown for decades, a new report from The Civil Rights Project shows that "New York has the most segregated schools in the country."
According to the report, the five boroughs represent almost 60% of the state's black students, and two-thirds of the state's Asian and Latino students, but only 10% of white students. Only 20% of the schools in the metro area were considered diverse.
Minority students who attend diverse schools tend to perform better, and are healthier and earn more as they get older. All students benefit from diverse schools, as they develop better critical thinking and problem solving skills than those in segregated schools.
"In the city, we find that there's a great proliferation of school choice, with virtually no consideration of civil rights necessities," Dr. Gary Orfield, a distinguished research professor at UCLA and co-author of the report says in a video accompanying the results.
The report finds that "Charter schools take the metro’s segregation to an extreme"—73% of charter schools are considered "apartheid schools," with less than 1% white enrollment. Only 8% of charter schools were considered "multiracial."
How did we get here?
Local and political resistance influenced New York’s history of school desegregation. Around the time of Reagan’s administration, the state moved away from desegregation efforts and instead focused on other practices and policies like accountability systems, school choice, and charter schools. By the early twenty-first century, most desegregation orders in key metropolitan areas were small and short-lived due to unitary status, and many programs designed to voluntary improve racial integration levels, like magnet schools, are now failing to achieve racial balance levels due to residential patterns, a lack of commitment, market-oriented framework, and school policy reversals.
Dr. Orfield points to a system of magnet schools similar to Connecticut's as a way to help diversify New York's classrooms. Across New York City, magnets had the highest proportion of multiracial schools and the lowest proportion of segregated schools.
"They create a tremendous educational invitation," Dr. Orfield says of effective magnet schools, adding that to alleviate the chronic segregation, New York should "create diversity plans, seek students of different backgrounds for individual schools, provide transportation so that opportunity isn't allocated just on the basis of family resources, and create really strong and desirable education incentives, and not to test students to get in but to allow them to choose."
The reports' authors also recommend integrating public housing authorities and other development authorities with school authorities [PDF].
You can read the entire report here [PDF].
Tagged
charter schools
magnet schools
school choice
segregation
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYPD searching for suspect after fatal stabbing in Queens
Officers responding to a call at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 173rd Street around 1 a.m. found 29-year-old Sulimon Ferrier, who had multiple stab wounds to his chest, police said.
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Oct 3, 2026 at 4:38 p.m. ET
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
It’s unclear if the attackers knew the victim was NYPD.
By
Jill Webb
News
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
It’s unclear if the attackers knew the victim was NYPD.
By
Jill Webb
Astoria-born Chip City announces sudden closure days after former CEO sues
By
Catalina Gonella
US judge tosses Trump lawsuit targeting pro-Palestinian protesters in NJ
By
Willow Higgins
A big, bright Saturn will be the highlight of NYC's fall stargazing season
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .