Education Reform Idea: Move Poor Kids to Better Neighborhoods
October 15, 2010 by Patrick BoyleWith the federal and state governments spending billions of dollars to improve schools and teachers, a group of thinkers from the education field gathered in Washington, D.C., Friday to say they have a better way to boost the academic achievement of kids in poor neighborhoods: Move them to middle class neighborhoods.
That was the conclusion of a panel discussion about a new report, Housing Policy Is School Policy, by The Century Foundation. The study concludes that an effort by Montgomery County, Md., to diversify its neighborhoods by moving some poor families into public housing scattered in middle class communities has had an enormous educational impact: It significantly raised the academic performance of low-income kids.
The study’s supporters say it provides the strongest evidence yet that where a child lives has the
