Chapter 2: Wither The Suburban Ideal?: Understanding Contemporary Suburban School Contexts

America is a primarily “suburban” society and suburbs are on the frontier of rapid racial and socioeconomic change (Frey, 2001; Logan, 2003a). In 2008, for the first time Census data indicated that more than half of residents from each major racial/ethnic group in metropolitan areas resided in the suburbs of these metros (Brookings Institution, 2010). Today, between city and suburbs as well as within suburbia, residential areas reflect racial segregation beyond what can be explained by economics alone (Harris & Mcardle, 2004; Shapiro, 2004). The failure to address to address housing segregation in metropolitan areas has resulted in persistently high levels of residential segregation beyond city lines that has major ramifications for public schools. Demographers continue to describe the multiracial diversity and segregation that exists between city and suburbs, and particularly between suburban communities themselves (Farrell, 2008). Other research suggests that there are multiple types of suburban communities rather than a singular model of suburbia (M. Orfield, 2002). However, recognition of how these trends affect suburban schools has largely escaped the attention of educational reformers.