My friend Josh, responding to Nikole Hannah-Jones’ school segregation essay, points me to this case study of a plan to reduce such segregation in District 15 in Brooklyn, NY. The plan, created and facilitated by WXY Studio, was the result of a collaboration among New York City’s Department of Education, parents, educators, community advocates, and local politicians.

The 2024 D15 Evaluation and Reflection Report found that following implementation of the diversity plan, D15 middle schools climbed from the “second most socioeconomically segregated” district in New York City to 19th out of 32; more middle school students applied to more district schools; and “student stress and anxiety” during the admissions process declined significantly. Josh, who lived in District 15 with his wife Cori and their kids and participated in several of the workshops, describes the case study as “an insight into what can actually happen if folks really wanted to make it so.”

See Also: Troy Closson reporting the results in 2024 for The New York Times; and a Times Opinion piece by Brent Staples, who writes that this study—

[…] has shown it is possible to integrate schools — without rancor or a mass exodus of white families — when parents and school officials value integration as a benefit in itself.