My research draws on interdisciplinary perspectives to interrogate the overlapping ecologies of schools and neighborhoods that shape students’ and families’ schooling experiences. My work considers the links between school and neighborhood improvement, the significance of space and place for understanding educational equity, family engagement in education, and the potential for strong partnerships between schools, families, and communities. See Publications for more.
Race, Class, and School Choice in Detroit
In collaboration with Dr. Danica Brown (Wayne State University) and Dr. Jeremy Singer (Michigan State University), this qualitative study investigates how middle-class families in Detroit choose schools within a gentrifying urban landscape. We aim to understand the factors that inform parents’ schooling decisions, how parents perceive how gentrification has unfolded in the city, and how parents’ perceive the impact of gentrification on their plans for their children’s educations.
Public Engagement in Education Policy Decisions
In collaboration with Dr. Kristin A. Sinclair (Georgetown University), this case study critically investigates how non-system policy actors (e.g., youth, parents, community members, and educators) influence education policy across multiple decision-making arenas in Washington, DC. We draw on surveys of youth and parents, interviews with diverse policy actors, and observations of public meetings to understand how policy actors engage in education policy decisions and their perception of their ability to influence education policy decisions.
Gentrification’s Impact on Urban Public Schools
Gentrification has transformed the physical, cultural, and demographic landscape of cities across the United States. The increased movement of middle-class families–or parent gentrifiers–to urban neighborhoods and their subsequent investment in urban public schools has ignited an interdisciplinary research agenda that seeks to understand the transformative promises and challenges of gentrification for urban schools. My dissertation investigates the transformative promises and challenges of gentrification for urban schools. Drawing on qualitative interviews and a multisite case study of elementary schools, I seek to understand how parent gentrifiers’ approach selecting schools for their children, how school administrators and teachers respond to changing demographics in their schools, and how parent gentrifiers and longtime residents negotiate their respective – and perhaps competing – interests in their schools.