1. RACIAL DIVERSITY IN MAINE'S SCHOOLS Jennifer Ayscue The Civil Rights Project, UCLA April 2, 2015

2. Overview Why does diversity matter? What are the enrollment and segregation trends in Maine’s public schools? What are the trends in Portland and Lewiston? How can Maine plan for increasing diversity in schools?

3. WHY DOES DIVERSITY MATTER?

4. Benefits of Diversity Academic Social Long-term

5. Harms of Segregation Unequal opportunities Teachers Classmates Curriculum Unequal outcomes Academic performance Drop-out rates Success in college

6. Racial Transition Portland 2000: 2.6% black 2010: 7.1% black Lewiston 2000: 1.1% black 2010: 8.7% black Between 1980 and 2005, diverse areas in the nation’s 50 largest metros were more likely to become predominantly nonwhite than to remain diverse 1 out of 5 suburban school districts in the 25 largest metro areas are experiencing rapid racial change

7. WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN MAINE'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

8. Enrollment Total Enrollment Maine 1989-1990 213,514 1999-2000 209,035 2010-2011 183,427 2012-2013 179,323 Northeast 1989-1990 6,940,135 1999-2000 8,007,804 2010-2011 7,780,729 Nation 1989-1990 39,937,135 1999-2000 46,737,341 2010-2011 48,782,384

9. Enrollment by Race, Maine 1989-19902010-2011

10. Very Few Minority Segregated Schools in Maine 0.8% of Maine’s schools are majority minority No intensely segregated schools No apartheid schools

11. Racial Composition of Typical Student’s School, Maine, 2010-2011

12. Double Segregation by Race and Poverty Less than ½ of the students in Maine are low income More than ¾ of the students in majority minority schools are low income

13. Socioeconomic Composition of Typical Student’s School, Maine, 2010-2011

14. Key Findings, Maine Decreasing enrollment size Increasing racial diversity Very few segregated schools Black students are most segregated Double segregation by race and poverty

15. WHAT ABOUT PORTLAND AND LEWISTON?

16. Enrollment by Race, Portland Metro, 2010-2011

17. White Proportion in Metro Districts 198919992010 YARMOUTH98.6%98.3%94.2% CAPE ELIZABETH 97.8%98.1%93.2% RSU 15/ MSAD 15 99.0%98.0%94.8% FALMOUTH98.3%97.8%93.7% WESTBROOK97.4%96.0%86.2% 198919992010 GORHAM98.7%97.4%96.3% SOUTH PORTLAND 96.9%95.3%84.6% SCARBOROUGH99.5%98.3%94.7% PORTLAND90.5%84.8%64.8%

18. Enrollment by Race, Portland School District, 2012-2013

19. Segregated Schools, Portland Public Schools 4 elementary schools are majority minority 3 elementary schools are more than 75% white

20. Key Findings, Portland Metro enrollment is increasing in size Metro is slightly more diverse than the state Portland Public Schools is substantially more diverse than the state and the metro 4 of the state’s 5 majority minority schools are in Portland Public Schools

21. Enrollment by Race, Lewiston Public Schools, 2012-2013

22. Segregated Schools, Lewiston Public Schools 1 elementary school is majority minority 1 elementary school is almost majority minority 2 elementary schools are more than 75% white

23. Conclusions Racial diversity is increasing Current instances of segregation are modest and localized

24. HOW CAN MAINE PLAN FOR INCREASING DIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS?

25. Recommendations Include diversity goals in student assignment policies Work with housing agencies Adopt regional approaches Include civil rights standards with choice options Recruit, train, and hire diverse teaching staff Provide teacher training about diversity

26. THANK YOU www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu Search for: Maine