Ed. Magazine Books: Integrating Schools in a Changing Society Posted May 24, 2012 By Rachael Apfel Nearly 58 years after Brown v. Board of Education, desegregation policies seem to be moving in the wrong direction, write the authors of Integrating Schools in a Changing Society. Over the course of the past two decades, a series of court cases — including a 2007 Supreme Court decision that struck down voluntary integration policies in Seattle and Louisville, Ky. — have created tough barriers for public schools attempting to pursue integration. In their book, Erica Frankenberg, Ed.M.'02, Ed.D.'08, and Elizabeth Debray, Ed.M.'92, Ed.D.'01, share concern for this steady drift toward "resegregation" and the implications it may hold for the American education system. Bringing together the voices of leading scholars in education policy and related fields, this comprehensive volume comprises 18 essays that offer thoughts about the dangers of the steady rise in segregation, how current policies are fundamentally mistaken, how resegregated schools are failing, and what alternatives American educators, policymakers, and advocates should consider. Divided into four parts, the book assesses the current climate in light of the past, reinforces the key benefits of racially integrated schools, examines strategies that help to pursue multiracial integration and equity within schools, and discusses a variety of case examples. Together, the essays in Integrating Schools highlight new ways for the American public education system to counter persistent racial and socioeconomic inequality and reverse the course policies have taken since the decisions of Brown. The compilation represents an effort to propel the discussion forward, allowing policymakers to become aware of potential options. "This book was designed to show what new evidence exists about integrated education and its relationship to equality of educational opportunity; what the political prospects are; what we know about new policy alternatives, including using socioeconomic status; and what the federal role could be in encouraging such options," write Frankenberg and Debray. "We strongly believe that, at the beginning of the 21st century, schools remain a powerful tool for attaining individual opportunity and a thriving multiracial democratic society." Ed. Magazine The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Explore All Articles Related Articles Ed. Magazine Greenlight to Freedom Casey Lartigue, Ed.M.’91, helps North Korean refugees tell their stories Ed. Magazine A Field Guide to Gifted Students Charlotte Agell's new book offers an intro to teachers and parents. Ed. Magazine What I Learned About Mentoring Principals It's not uncommon for teachers nowadays to have mentors. But mentoring for principals is a rarer.