Suburban Schooling

Growth of Suburban Areas

Suburban communities expanded substantially during the post–World War II period when the federal government supported suburban population growth by providing low interest rate loans to home buyers, developing suburban infrastructure, and enhancing transportation systems that allowed for efficient commuting between suburbs and cities. In 1940, 13.4% of the U.S. population lived in suburbs. By 2000, that number had increased to 50%. This suburban growth was often limited to Whites who were able to take advantage of government-subsidized home loans. African Americans and other minorities were often excluded from this suburban growth by racial discrimination in government programs and the real estate industry, and by restrictive covenants among White suburban residents. Therefore, as suburban schools expanded, the perception that such schools served White students and their families (particularly when compared with city schools systems) was reinforced.

Perceptions of Suburban School Quality

While contemporary scholars note that parents often select homes in suburban communities to gain access to suburban schools, for the first half of the 20th century, many urban public school systems were considered exemplary and, in many cases, superior to suburban public schools. By the 1970s and 1980s, the perception of many suburban schools had changed and their perceived high quality was considered an important asset of many suburbs.

Increasing Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Diversity of Suburban Students

Although popular perception associates White students with suburbs and students of color with central cities, the past 3 decades have seen increases in the percentage of Asians, Blacks, and Latina/o/s who live in suburbs and attend suburban schools. Currently, about 40% of African Americans and more than half of Latina/o/s in the most populated metropolitan areas live in suburbs. Sean Reardon and John Yun report that during the 1980s, the suburban minority population grew by 60% while the non-Hispanic White population grew by only 8%. Likewise, Richard Fry reports that Asian, Black, and Latina/o students made up 28% of suburban students in 1993–1994 and 41% in 2006–2007 with Black, Latina/o, and Asian populations all showing percentage increases. The Latina/o [Page 2102]student population, the fastest growing segment of the suburban school population, nearly doubled during this period. This Latina/o population growth results, in part, from immigration patterns in which new immigrants bypass central cities and migrate directly to suburbs. Other suburban communities are characterized by post–civil rights era migration of African Americans from cities to suburbs and the development of majority Black suburbs that range from middle-class to working-class communities. Interestingly, the growth in Asian, Black, and Latina/o representation in suburban schools has not eliminated school-based racial segregation. Suburban White students still tend to be isolated in schools with other White students. In some locations, urban-to-suburban transfer programs allow small numbers of students of color who live in cities to attend surrounding suburban schools. This adds some level of racial diversity to predominantly White suburban districts.

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