Dive Brief:

• Despite efforts at increasing diversity, New York City’s selective high schools remain predominantly white as school assignments are revealed next year.
• The New York Times reports only 10% of offers for the most competitive schools went to black and Latino students, down from 530 students to 524, even though they make up 68% of the massive district’s student body.
• More 4- and 5-year-olds living in the shelter system applied for kindergarten this year — 41%, up from 36% last year — and more eighth graders took the exam that determines acceptance into competitive high schools, two pieces of moderately encouraging results.

Dive Insight:

New York City has been trying to increase diversity in its broadly segregated public school system with tweaks here and there. Few districts try massive structural integration plans anymore, and the small number of remaining initiatives like this contribute to the steady re-segregation of the nation’s schools.

Still, some people argue integration shouldn’t be the top goal for public schools. Improving access to strong academic supports, a rigorous curriculum and a holistic set of enrichment opportunities seem to be more important to many families of color than diversity for its own sake. And a number of prominent all-black charters have shown that a lack of racial diversity doesn’t have to mean low academic achievement.