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Segregating Gotham's Youngest: Racial/Ethnic Sorting and the Choice Architecture of New York City’s Pre-K for All

Douglas D. Ready,
Jeanne L. Reid

New York City’s Pre-K for All (PKA) is the Nation’s largest universal early childhood initiative, currently serving some 70,000 four-year-olds. Stemming from the program’s choice architecture as well as the City’s stark residential segregation, PKA programs are extremely segregated by child race/ethnicity. Our current study explores the complex forces that influence this segregation, including the interplay between family choices, seat availability, site-level enrollment priorities, and the PKA algorithm that weighs these and other considerations. We find that a majority of PKA segregation lies within rather than between local communities, suggesting that reducing segregation would not necessarily require families to choose programs far from home. On a more troubling note, areas with increased options and greater racial/ethnic diversity also exhibit the most extreme segregation.

Keywords
Segregation; choice; early childhood education
Education level
Early childhood
Topics
School Choice
Tags
Race, ethnicity, and education,
Early childhood education,
Equity
Download 04/2022
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/qydj-ax24
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Ready, Douglas D., and Jeanne L. Reid. (). Segregating Gotham's Youngest: Racial/Ethnic Sorting and the Choice Architecture of New York City’s Pre-K for All. (EdWorkingPaper: -560). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/qydj-ax24

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