Setting Boundaries: Monitoring the Effects of Closer-to-Home School Rezoning on Student Participation & Engagement in School

Abstract

This study examines the social contexts of school zones over time and their influence on student participation and engagement in schools. As one Southeastern school district transitioned from court-ordered busing to unitary status, schools were rezoned with an emphasis on sending children to schools that were closer to their homes. As a result, many schools became more racially and socioeconomically homogeneous than they were during the desegregation era. In this dissertation I explore the impacts of these ever-changing social contexts on student outcomes. I find that the social contexts of school attendance zones are influential in predicting student participation and engagement in schools. I also find that these effects are mediated by full service schools designed to assist students living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods.