Chapter 4: Neither Urban Core Nor Rural Fringe: “In-Between” Districts and the Shifting Landscape of School Performance in the United States

Bring to mind a school in need of turnaround, one that is failing to serve its students and families, one in which large numbers of students never reach par on standardized tests, and have reading and math skills months and years behind grade level. Where is this struggling school of your imagination? Our guess is that you conjure a school in one of two places. The first is a high-poverty, high-minority area in a major city like New York or Los Angeles, the kind of place portrayed in movies such as Dangerous Minds or Freedom Writers. Or you might imagine a poor, rural area school with few resources, serving students and families who are more concerned with putting food on the table than preparing for college.