The Research Alliance for New York City Schools

Equity Indicators: Racial Representation in NYC Elementary and Middle Schools

Building on National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommendations, the Research Alliance has been working to develop measures of equity for the NYC public school system. As part of this project, we have released Spotlights focused on student outcomes and opportunities related to advanced coursework, school climate, and the use of suspensions across and within schools. In this post, we assess the state of segregation in the city and examine the role of school choice in shaping racial representation in NYC elementary and middle schools.

Key findings include:

  • Community school districts varied widely in the share of schools reflecting local racial demographics. Most of the community school districts that had high racial representativeness by this measure were located in areas of the city with less racial diversity (i.e., where the entire CSD is predominantly Black, Latinx or Asian). As a result, meeting this benchmark in those districts does not necessarily indicate meaningful racial integration.
  • Less than 2 percent of schools across New York City were representative of the city as a whole.
  • Black and Latinx students were least likely to attend their zoned schools or another school inside their community school district and the most likely to attend charter schools.
  • Within the current administrative system, school choice is a meaningful contributor to school segregation. However, its effects are secondary to longstanding school segregation rooted in historical redlining, which continues to shape residential segregation and school zoning.

Integration as an Educational Equity Priority

The 2019 NAS report Monitoring Educational Equity includes the “extent of racial, ethnic, and economic segregation” as one of four key domains of educational opportunity. Racial and economic segregation contribute to disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes. On average, Black and Latinx students and students from low-income neighborhoods in NYC attend schools with more limited access to advanced coursework and larger concentrations of low-performing peers. Black students, in particular, are less likely to attend schools with a supportive school climate, meaning schools where students report feeling safe and respected by their teachers and peers.

In the decades following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling, which declared racially segregated schools unconstitutional, integration plans were adopted across the country. Extensive research from this period documented the positive effects of integrated schools on educational outcomes for all students. More equitable access to resources in these schools was associated with higher test and SAT scores, a reduction in the achievement gap, lower dropout rates, and higher educational expectations and aspirations. Evidence also suggests that diverse classrooms promote creativity and critical thinking and reduce implicit bias towards members of other racial groups. However, as education priorities have shifted, segregation has begun to rise again nationwide, increasing 64 percent in the 100 largest districts between 1991 and 2024. The Civil Rights Project at UCLA found that, in 2014 and 2018, New York State had the highest levels of Black segregation, and in 2018, the second-highest level of Latinx segregation.[1]

This issue has recently gained renewed attention in New York City, as Chancellor Kamar Samuels has made integration a priority of his administration. As a first step, ahead of the 2026–27 school year, New York City Public Schools announced that five community school districts are convening working groups of parents, teachers, principals, and community organizations to develop strategies that promote “academically rigorous, safe and integrated schools.” The district aims to establish a working group in every CSD within three years. These efforts are likely to build on recommendations issued by the New York City School Diversity Advisory Group (SDAG) during the de Blasio administration. The SDAG proposed that, in the short-term, elementary and middle schools should aim for their student populations to better reflect the demographics of residents in their Community School Districts (CSDs). As a long-term goal, the SDAG proposed that schools should aim to reflect citywide demographics. Districts 1, 2, 3, 13, 15, 22, 27, 28, and 31 were identified as racially diverse and recommended to be prioritized for developing integration plans.

CSD Representation

Previous Research Alliance analyses have explored different measures of racially representative schools (RRS) and identified where these schools are located across the city. In this post, we update those analyses for the 2024-25 school year, focusing on two measures of racial representation. Our sample includes 1061 NYC public schools serving K-8 students with more than 20 actively enrolled students in 2025, excluding charters, District 75 schools, and 6-12 or K-12 schools.[2] An important limitation of this analysis is that, due to limited data on charter students’ residences, our analyses of racial representation focus only on traditional public schools and their students. In the future, we hope to incorporate charter school data to develop a more complete picture of citywide student enrollment patterns.

Our first measure was developed by the SDAG and subsequently used by district working groups to design integration plans. It compares the proportions of Asian, Black, Latinx and White students in each school to the proportions of K-8 students residing in the school’s CSD,[3] regardless of where those students attend school. A school is considered racially representative if the proportion for each group falls within 10 percentage points of its proportion in the CSD.

The map below is shaded according to the percentage of elementary, middle, and K-8 schools in each CSD that were representative of their CSD’s racial demographics in 2025. It is important to note that the number of schools serving K-8 students varies greatly by CSD, from 18 (District 1) to 62 (District 31). Click on each CSD to see the total number of schools and the number of racially representative schools in the CSD, as well as a bar chart of the residential demographics of the CSD. The toggle on the left side allows you to change the map shading to show representativeness for Elementary, Middle, and K8 schools in each CSD.
 

Figure 1: Community School Districts Varied Widely in the Share of Schools Reflecting Local Racial Demographics

At the elementary school level, 25 percent of all schools were racially representative of their CSD’s residential demographics, and this number varied widely across the City. Out of 32 total CSDs, there were 10 where fewer than 10 percent of schools were racially representative. In 8 CSDs, 50 percent or more of the schools were racially representative. Only two CSDs had greater than 75 percent racially representative schools (District 9 and 18). The CSDs with greater representation were concentrated in the Bronx and north and east Brooklyn.

Representation based on CSD demographics was higher at the middle school level, with a rate of 37 percent overall. Once again, this number varied greatly, with CSD 11 having 0 out of its 14 middle schools being racially representative, and CSD 26 having all of its 5 middle schools meeting the racially representative threshold. K-8 schools had the lowest level of CSD representation, with an overall rate of 22 percent. 

Most of the community school districts that had high racial representativeness by this measure were located in areas of the city with less racial diversity (e.g., CSD 18, where 80% of students are Black, or CSD 32, where 80% of students are Latinx). As a result, meeting this benchmark in those districts does not necessarily indicate meaningful racial integration.

City Representation

Our second measure of racial representation was recommended by the SDAG as a long-term metric of success for integration plans. It is constructed similarly, but compares school demographics to the proportions of K-8 students in New York City as a whole: 16 percent Black, 42 percent Latinx, 17 percent White, and 21 percent Asian.[4]  The map below is shaded according to the percentage of elementary, middle, and K-8 schools in each CSD whose student populations fell within 10 percentage points of the citywide racial composition in 2025. As rates of racial representation were much lower across the board for this measure, the legend was adjusted to range from 0 to 20 percent representative schools. Click on each CSD to see the total number of schools and the number of racially representative schools in the CSD, as well as a bar chart of the residential demographics of the CSD. The toggle on the left side allows you to change the map shading to show representativeness for Elementary, Middle, and K8 schools in each CSD.


Figure 2: Few Schools Across NYC Were Racially Representative of the City as a Whole

Rates of city racial representation were much lower, with a little over 1 percent of elementary schools and middle schools and 0.8 percent of K-8 schools reaching this benchmark. Most community school districts had no schools that were representative of the city as a whole. Staten Island had 5 of these schools, more than any other community school district. Other notable districts included CSD 30 in western Queens, which had 3, and CSD 11 in northeast Bronx, which had 2. 

School Choice and Segregation 

School choice policies allow families to select from a range of options within the NYC public school system, including schools inside or outside their CSD, charter schools, and their neighborhood zoned school, where they are guaranteed admission. During this process, families submit an application ranking the schools they are interested in. The city admissions system then assigns seats based on schools’ admissions priorities and by lottery. At the elementary level, schools typically give preference to students who live within the school's attendance zone or district, previously attended pre-K at the school, or have a sibling already enrolled. For middle school admission, some schools may also consider grades in core subjects, require an audition, or have a language criterion. Schools also reserve seats for students who receive special education services and may give priority to students who receive English learning services, qualify for free or reduced lunch, are in the child welfare system, or live in temporary housing. Charter schools have a separate application process, which families can engage in simultaneously.

The figure below shows the percentage of students who attended their zoned school, a non-zoned school inside their residential CSD, a traditional public school (shown as TPS in figure) outside their CSD, or a charter school, by race/ethnicity. A toggle on the right allows you to view by students in elementary level (grades K-5) or middle school level (grades 6-8), and you can double-click a school type in the legend to see the bars for only that school type. Our sample includes 588,934 NYC K-8 students who were actively enrolled in 2025, including 472,269 students who attended traditional public schools and 116,665 students who attended charter schools. (For easier viewing on small screens, we recommend zooming out).


Figure 3: Black and Latinx Students Were Less Likely to Attend Their Zoned Schools

At the elementary and middle school levels, Black students were the least likely to attend their zoned school and most likely to attend a charter school. Asian and White students attended their zoned schools at the highest rates and charters at the lowest rates. Latinx students fell in between these groups on both measures, with higher zoned school enrollment than Black students, but less than Asian and White students. Enrollment differences in non-zoned schools inside students’ CSDs and in traditional public schools outside CSDs were smaller. In middle school, all students were less likely to attend their zoned schools and more likely to attend a non-zoned school inside their CSD or a traditional public school outside their CSD. Charter school enrollment stayed the same for Latinx students in middle school, but was slightly lower for all other groups. 

Due to historical patterns of residential segregation, Black and Latinx students are more likely to live in impoverished neighborhoods with lower-performing schools, which helps explain why they are less likely to attend their zoned school. Presumably, families leverage school choice to access higher-performing schools with more resources and opportunities. Our analysis found that, in 2025, 59 percent of K-8 students who left their zoned school[5] for another traditional public school attended one with the same or higher math and ELA test proficiency rates, and 65 percent attended a school with lower rates of students in poverty. Students who left their zoned school attended schools with, on average, 7 percent higher math proficiency rates on NY state exams, 8 percent higher ELA proficiency rates, and 7 percent fewer students living in poverty. Although we lack data on charter students’ zoned schools and therefore could not include them in this analysis, their inclusion might amplify the differences in test proficiency observed here. 

Prior studies have found that school choice policies may contribute to school segregation. A 2018 analysis by the Center for New York City Affairs found that if all NYC elementary school students had attended their zoned schools in 2017, schools would have been marginally less segregated. When we updated this analysis for 2025, focusing only on students who attended traditional public schools, we found that elementary schools would have been, on average, 6.3 percentage points more representative of their CSD demographics, and middle schools would have been 5.8 percentage points more representative.[6]  This means that within the current system, school choice is a meaningful contributor to school segregation. However, its effects are secondary to longstanding school segregation rooted in historical redlining, which continues to shape residential segregation and school zoning. Since charter schools in NYC largely serve Black and Latinx student populations, we expect that families choosing charter schools also contribute to increased racial segregation (as noted, we lack data on charter students’ addresses, which would be needed to test this hypothesis).

Improving racial representation in schools is one part of a broader effort to create a more equitable education system. It is important to note that increasing racial diversity does not necessarily address other forms of segregation (e.g., by income, home language, etc.), and that there can be large disparities in access to resources within schools even when those schools are desegregated. For these reasons, Integrate NYC created a framework that, in addition to more diverse school environments, also emphasizes restorative justice, equitable access to resources, representative school leadership, and culturally-responsive curriculum and programs.

With integration being recentered under Chancellor Samuels, it will be important to learn from initiatives that took place under previous administrations and use evidence to inform new strategies. A diversity plan in District 15 has shown promising outcomes since its implementation in 2019, with a significant reduction in socioeconomic segregation at the middle school level. This initiative highlights challenges and offers a model for moving integration forward—one built on years of advocacy, shaped through extensive community engagement, and strengthened by rigorous research to evaluate its impact. 

Big Questions

  • How have racial and socioeconomic segregation in NYC changed over time?
  • How useful is CSD representation as a measure of racial segregation/integration? Does this metric align with the district's current goals around integration? 
  • What other metrics would be useful, especially considering the legal limitations to using race in voluntary integration policies?
  • Do policies focused on promoting socioeconomic diversity help foster more racially integrated schools? For example, NYC schools have reserved seats for students experiencing homelessness, students who have an incarcerated parent, or those who come from low-income families. How successful have these strategies been in promoting more diverse student populations? Were schools able to effectively serve increasing numbers of high-need students? 
  • Research has highlighted that racialized perceptions of school quality influence school choice and likely contribute to segregation. Are there ways that school systems can mitigate this tendency and encourage more diverse enrollment patterns?
  • What role does private school enrollment play in shaping racial segregation, and how might its inclusion change the results of this analysis? 

This Spotlight post was authored by Erin Readling.
 

Endnotes

[1] In 2018, NYS had the highest levels of both Black and Latinx students attending “intensely segregated schools” with greater than 90 percent students of color. NYS also had the lowest levels of Black-White student exposure in schools and the second lowest levels of Latinx-White student exposure (behind California).↩

[2] Our sample included 670 elementary schools, 262 middle schools, and 129 K-8 schools in NYC.↩

[3] CSD residential demographics were calculated using a sample of 472,269 K-8 students who attended NYC traditional public schools in 2025.↩

[4]  This composition reflects the race/ethnicity makeup of K-8 NYC students who attended a public school (charters excluded) in 2025. The city representation measure does not compare schools’ compositions of Native American and multi-racial students, as well as students with no race/ethnicity listed, who together make up 3.7% of K-8 NYC students (charters excluded). Including charters, the race/ethnicity makeup of K-8 NYC students is: 22.0% Black, 14.7% White, 17.4% Asian, and 42.4% Latinx.↩

[5] Our analysis included 967 Zoned Schools serving K-8 students.↩

[6] This number varied significantly by CSD. Access CSD specific representation data here for more information [Google Sheets].↩


Figure Notes

Figure 1. Community School Districts Varied Widely in the Share of Schools Reflecting Local Racial Demographics
Source: Research Alliance calculations based on data obtained from NYC Public Schools. Get the data for Figure 1 [Google Sheets].
Note: CSD 15 and CSD 28 have no K-8 schools.

Figure 2: Few Schools Across NYC Were Racially Representative of the City as a Whole
Source: Research Alliance calculations based on data obtained from NYC Public Schools. Get the data for Figure 2 [Google Sheets].

Figure 3: Black and Latinx Students Were Less Likely to Attend Their Zoned Schools
Source: Research Alliance calculations based on data obtained from NYC Public Schools. Get the data for Figure 3 [Google Sheets].
Note: A small number of students attend their zoned school, which is outside their CSD, so they are represented in both bars. “TPS Outside CSD” refers to traditional public schools outside of a student’s residential community school district.


Suggested Citation

Readling, E. 2026. Equity Indicators: Racial Representation in NYC Elementary and Middle Schools. Spotlight on New York City Schools. Research Alliance for New York City Schools.