Claire Smrekar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Claire Smrekar
Peabody Journal of Education, 2015
This paper is designed to specify a set of new opportunities for educators, school administrators... more This paper is designed to specify a set of new opportunities for educators, school administrators, and scholars to realize the practical aims and strategic advantages envisioned in magnet schools. The paper is divided into three distinct sections. In Section I, we examine the extensive research literature on parents' choice patterns and school preferences in magnet schools and other school-choice programs. In Section II, we compare the reasons parents choose particular schools with the criteria school districts use to select magnet school locations (and themes). This section highlights desegregation goals and district-level magnet school policies pegged to the following questions: What is the policy context for siting decisions in districts with magnet schools? Are siting policies strategically aligned with what is known from the research literature about parents' school preferences? Do neighborhood characteristics play a part in magnet school siting policies and specific decision-making? In Section III, we use geographic information system (GIS) tools to add both clarity and complexity to the convergence of parent choice patterns and sociodemographic diversity in our four selected school districts. The maps depict the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of the magnet schools in each district, as well as the demographic characteristics of surrounding census tracts (extended school neighborhoods). We conclude that GIS can be a viable option for improving the citing decisions for magnet schools, and that this can allow for the merging of parent choice priorities with educational equity and diversity goals of the district.
Urban Education
In a context that privileges neighborhood zoning and school choice over within-district busing, w... more In a context that privileges neighborhood zoning and school choice over within-district busing, we examine urban residents’ perceptions of the benefits of racial diversity. We analyze public opinion trends by race and residents’ experience as a student in a district under court-ordered desegregation—Nashville, TN. We find racial differences regarding the values of proximity and school diversity that are moderated by experience as a school-age resident in a city under mandatory desegregation. We build upon literature showing long-term impacts of attending integrated schools, underscoring the influence of time, place, and experience in shaping perceptions of school diversity policies.
School Choice at the Crossroads, 2018
American Journal of Education, 2006
Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP4 file: "Video @ Vanderbilt - Videos... more Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP4 file: "Video @ Vanderbilt - Videos - Spring 2008 Faculty Assembly."
Handbook of Research on School Choice, 2019
Educational Policy, 1998
The accumulating evidence from the array of school-linked social service initiatives launched ove... more The accumulating evidence from the array of school-linked social service initiatives launched over the past decade provides a glimpse of the enduring obstacles and challenges to integrated services. The notable failure of two prominent foundation efforts indicates a critical crossroads for this public policy movement. This article explores the organizational and political constraints that threaten to undercut the school-linked services movement. The discussion focuses on the misguided messages that have helped slide the issue of children 's services to the center of the policy table on the naive and narrow assumption that integrated services will produce more economical and efficient systems for families. The concluding argument urges educators and policy makers to move beyond the erratic and irregular child-saving impulses that have marked earlier education and social services policies to efforts that understand the complexity of the lives of children and the economic foundatio...
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1994
States and local communities have responded to the urgent demand for better coordinated services ... more States and local communities have responded to the urgent demand for better coordinated services by creating organizational linkages across schools and human service agencies. In the rush to promote schools as the linchpin for this policy proposal, however, critical issues related to the nature of interactions between families and schools have been mostly ignored by policy-makers and educators. This study of the Kentucky Family Resource Centers explores the effect of family-school interactions on school-linked service programs. The findings suggest the need to connect the dialogue on integrated services to the impulses of reform in school-family-community networks.
Peabody Journal of Education, 2011
This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public hou... more This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public housing designs) shape parents’ social interactions and social networks? To answer this question, we interviewed families residing in a HOPE VI neighborhood and an adjacent Section 8 apartment complex, all of whom had at least one child attending the close-by neighborhood school (Crawford Elementary School, a pseudonym). We then compared the results of the HOPE VI neighborhood study against the interviews conducted with the school families in the adjacent Section 8 apartment complex. Findings suggest that the community structures of the HOPE VI neighborhood foster positive social interactions and the formation of social networks among residents, which was not the case with respect to the neighborhood structures of the non–HOPE VI community. Parents in both communities were usually busy with work and children and other concerns, but non–HOPE VI parents responded to these pressures by keeping to themselves, whereas HOPE VI residents evinced a greater openness to engaging with neighbors—neighbors who have some of the same goals for the future (e.g., homeownership, maintaining steady employment) and who share an ongoing positive residential experience.
Jewish Day Schools, Jewish Communities
This paper explores issues related to magnet schools and racial diversity, reviewing research on ... more This paper explores issues related to magnet schools and racial diversity, reviewing research on magnet schools that underscores the importance of analyzing how effective magnets are in reducing racial isolation, how these data differ across districts, and what accounts for these differential effects. The paper also includes findings from a 3-year study of magnet schools in two major urban school districts (Saint Louis, Missburi, and Cincinnati, Ohio), examining the social context of school choice in order to highlight the interplay between choice policies and efforts aimed at school desegregation. It focuses specifically on issues of social class isolation in the context of magnet school systems that are designed to address racial diversity, arguing that these persistent patterns of socioeconomic segregation can be arrested under certain conditions. The paper concludes by discussing indications that the post-busing era of desegregation and litigation signals a heavy reliance upon m...
Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP3 file: "Vanderbilt professors Carol... more Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP3 file: "Vanderbilt professors Carolyn Hughes and Claire Smrekar discuss the impact of neighborhood revitalization on the neighborhood school environment."
This paper examines the policy context of charter school adoption and implementation in Indianapo... more This paper examines the policy context of charter school adoption and implementation in Indianapolis -- the only city in the U.S. with independent mayoral authorizing authority. Our study identifies specific implications of this hybrid of mayoral control, including expanded civic capacity and innovation diffusion across Indianapolis area public school systems. This qualitative study utilizes over 30 in-depth interviews conducted with key stakeholders. Legislative, state, and school district documents and reports were analyzed for descriptive evidence of expanded civic capacity, school innovation, and charter/noncharter school competitive pressures. The case of Indianapolis reframes the mayoral role in education reform, and expands the institutional framework for charter school authorizing.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 01619560902810153, Apr 6, 2009
This article uses qualitative case study methodology to examine why the racial composition of mag... more This article uses qualitative case study methodology to examine why the racial composition of magnet schools in Nashville, Tennessee, has shifted to predominantly African American in the aftermath of unitary status. The article compares the policy contexts and parents' reasons for choosing magnet schools at two points in time—under court order and under unitary status. Social networks, choice sets, and
National Center on School Choice Vanderbilt University, 2011
The center is housed on the campus of Peabody College, one of the nation's top graduate schools o... more The center is housed on the campus of Peabody College, one of the nation's top graduate schools of education.
Peabody Journal of Education, 2015
This paper is designed to specify a set of new opportunities for educators, school administrators... more This paper is designed to specify a set of new opportunities for educators, school administrators, and scholars to realize the practical aims and strategic advantages envisioned in magnet schools. The paper is divided into three distinct sections. In Section I, we examine the extensive research literature on parents' choice patterns and school preferences in magnet schools and other school-choice programs. In Section II, we compare the reasons parents choose particular schools with the criteria school districts use to select magnet school locations (and themes). This section highlights desegregation goals and district-level magnet school policies pegged to the following questions: What is the policy context for siting decisions in districts with magnet schools? Are siting policies strategically aligned with what is known from the research literature about parents' school preferences? Do neighborhood characteristics play a part in magnet school siting policies and specific decision-making? In Section III, we use geographic information system (GIS) tools to add both clarity and complexity to the convergence of parent choice patterns and sociodemographic diversity in our four selected school districts. The maps depict the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of the magnet schools in each district, as well as the demographic characteristics of surrounding census tracts (extended school neighborhoods). We conclude that GIS can be a viable option for improving the citing decisions for magnet schools, and that this can allow for the merging of parent choice priorities with educational equity and diversity goals of the district.
Urban Education
In a context that privileges neighborhood zoning and school choice over within-district busing, w... more In a context that privileges neighborhood zoning and school choice over within-district busing, we examine urban residents’ perceptions of the benefits of racial diversity. We analyze public opinion trends by race and residents’ experience as a student in a district under court-ordered desegregation—Nashville, TN. We find racial differences regarding the values of proximity and school diversity that are moderated by experience as a school-age resident in a city under mandatory desegregation. We build upon literature showing long-term impacts of attending integrated schools, underscoring the influence of time, place, and experience in shaping perceptions of school diversity policies.
School Choice at the Crossroads, 2018
American Journal of Education, 2006
Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP4 file: "Video @ Vanderbilt - Videos... more Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP4 file: "Video @ Vanderbilt - Videos - Spring 2008 Faculty Assembly."
Handbook of Research on School Choice, 2019
Educational Policy, 1998
The accumulating evidence from the array of school-linked social service initiatives launched ove... more The accumulating evidence from the array of school-linked social service initiatives launched over the past decade provides a glimpse of the enduring obstacles and challenges to integrated services. The notable failure of two prominent foundation efforts indicates a critical crossroads for this public policy movement. This article explores the organizational and political constraints that threaten to undercut the school-linked services movement. The discussion focuses on the misguided messages that have helped slide the issue of children 's services to the center of the policy table on the naive and narrow assumption that integrated services will produce more economical and efficient systems for families. The concluding argument urges educators and policy makers to move beyond the erratic and irregular child-saving impulses that have marked earlier education and social services policies to efforts that understand the complexity of the lives of children and the economic foundatio...
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1994
States and local communities have responded to the urgent demand for better coordinated services ... more States and local communities have responded to the urgent demand for better coordinated services by creating organizational linkages across schools and human service agencies. In the rush to promote schools as the linchpin for this policy proposal, however, critical issues related to the nature of interactions between families and schools have been mostly ignored by policy-makers and educators. This study of the Kentucky Family Resource Centers explores the effect of family-school interactions on school-linked service programs. The findings suggest the need to connect the dialogue on integrated services to the impulses of reform in school-family-community networks.
Peabody Journal of Education, 2011
This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public hou... more This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public housing designs) shape parents’ social interactions and social networks? To answer this question, we interviewed families residing in a HOPE VI neighborhood and an adjacent Section 8 apartment complex, all of whom had at least one child attending the close-by neighborhood school (Crawford Elementary School, a pseudonym). We then compared the results of the HOPE VI neighborhood study against the interviews conducted with the school families in the adjacent Section 8 apartment complex. Findings suggest that the community structures of the HOPE VI neighborhood foster positive social interactions and the formation of social networks among residents, which was not the case with respect to the neighborhood structures of the non–HOPE VI community. Parents in both communities were usually busy with work and children and other concerns, but non–HOPE VI parents responded to these pressures by keeping to themselves, whereas HOPE VI residents evinced a greater openness to engaging with neighbors—neighbors who have some of the same goals for the future (e.g., homeownership, maintaining steady employment) and who share an ongoing positive residential experience.
Jewish Day Schools, Jewish Communities
This paper explores issues related to magnet schools and racial diversity, reviewing research on ... more This paper explores issues related to magnet schools and racial diversity, reviewing research on magnet schools that underscores the importance of analyzing how effective magnets are in reducing racial isolation, how these data differ across districts, and what accounts for these differential effects. The paper also includes findings from a 3-year study of magnet schools in two major urban school districts (Saint Louis, Missburi, and Cincinnati, Ohio), examining the social context of school choice in order to highlight the interplay between choice policies and efforts aimed at school desegregation. It focuses specifically on issues of social class isolation in the context of magnet school systems that are designed to address racial diversity, arguing that these persistent patterns of socioeconomic segregation can be arrested under certain conditions. The paper concludes by discussing indications that the post-busing era of desegregation and litigation signals a heavy reliance upon m...
Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP3 file: "Vanderbilt professors Carol... more Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP3 file: "Vanderbilt professors Carolyn Hughes and Claire Smrekar discuss the impact of neighborhood revitalization on the neighborhood school environment."
This paper examines the policy context of charter school adoption and implementation in Indianapo... more This paper examines the policy context of charter school adoption and implementation in Indianapolis -- the only city in the U.S. with independent mayoral authorizing authority. Our study identifies specific implications of this hybrid of mayoral control, including expanded civic capacity and innovation diffusion across Indianapolis area public school systems. This qualitative study utilizes over 30 in-depth interviews conducted with key stakeholders. Legislative, state, and school district documents and reports were analyzed for descriptive evidence of expanded civic capacity, school innovation, and charter/noncharter school competitive pressures. The case of Indianapolis reframes the mayoral role in education reform, and expands the institutional framework for charter school authorizing.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 01619560902810153, Apr 6, 2009
This article uses qualitative case study methodology to examine why the racial composition of mag... more This article uses qualitative case study methodology to examine why the racial composition of magnet schools in Nashville, Tennessee, has shifted to predominantly African American in the aftermath of unitary status. The article compares the policy contexts and parents' reasons for choosing magnet schools at two points in time—under court order and under unitary status. Social networks, choice sets, and
National Center on School Choice Vanderbilt University, 2011
The center is housed on the campus of Peabody College, one of the nation's top graduate schools o... more The center is housed on the campus of Peabody College, one of the nation's top graduate schools of education.