THE IMPLICATIONS OF SCHOOL BOUNDARY CHANGES ON CLASS REPRODUCTION by Nick Botero A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Sociology Committee: Director Department Chairperson Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: Fall Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA The Implications of School Boundary Changes on Class Reproduction A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at George Mason University by Nick Botero Bachelor of Science Radford University, 2010 Director: John Dale, Professor Department of Sociology Fall Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NODERIVS 3.0 UNPORTED LICENSE. ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to my loving wife Amanda and our dog Sophie. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all, I would like to thank the faculty of George Mason University’s Sociology Department for their dedication and enthusiasm in imparting their wisdom to their students. A considerable degree of recognition is owed to Dr. John Dale, Dr. Amy Best, and Dr. Shannon Davis who were instrumental in helping me to conceptually frame and execute this project. I would like to thank my parents and Navy Federal Credit Union for their financial assistance in obtaining a MA degree in sociology. Lastly, I would like to state that I am forever indebted to the minds and works of the sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and historians I had the pleasure of being exposed to during my time in this program. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations and/or Symbols ............................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................... x Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 5 Theoretical Framing of Class, Community, & Concrete Institutions ............................. 6 Class............................................................................................................................. 6 Community. ................................................................................................................. 7 Concrete Institutions. ................................................................................................... 9 Education’s Connection to the Labor Market ................................................................. 9 Schools as Centers of Class Reproduction ..................... 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Research Design................................................................................................................ 14 School-level Measures .................................................................................................. 18 Total student population. ........................................................................................... 19 Students receiving free and reduced price lunches. ................................................... 19 Student ethnicity and race. ......................................................................................... 20 Limited English proficient students. .......................................................................... 21 Senior class size. ........................................................................................................ 21 Diploma graduates. .................................................................................................... 22 Graduation rate. ......................................................................................................... 22 Federal graduation indicator. ..................................................................................... 22 Student dropouts. ....................................................................................................... 23 Faculty population. .................................................................................................... 24 Property Measures ......................................................................................................... 25 Data collection. .......................................................................................................... 25 v Property age and size. ................................................................................................ 27 Average property value by territory. ......................................................................... 27 Average property value by year. ................................................................................ 27 Rate of change to property value. .............................................................................. 27 Findings & Analysis ......................................................................................................... 30 School-level Data .......................................................................................................... 30 Total student population. ........................................................................................... 31 Students receiving free and reduced price lunches. ................................................... 32 Student ethnicity and race. ......................................................................................... 33 Diploma Graduates. ................................................................................................... 35 Dropouts. ................................................................................................................... 37 Post-secondary education. ......................................................................................... 38 Property Data................................................................................................................. 41 Average square foot by territory. ............................................................................... 41 Average year built. .................................................................................................... 42 Average property value. ............................................................................................ 43 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 47 Research Limitations ........................................................................................................ 50 References ......................................................................................................................... 52 Biography .......................................................................................................................... 55 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1 .............................................................................................................................. 23 Table 2 .............................................................................................................................. 42 Table 3 .............................................................................................................................. 42 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1 ............................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 2 ............................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 3 ............................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 4 ............................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 5 ............................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 6 ............................................................................................................................. 36 Figure 7 ............................................................................................................................. 37 Figure 8 ............................................................................................................................. 37 Figure 9 ............................................................................................................................. 38 Figure 10 ........................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 11 ........................................................................................................................... 40 Figure 12 ........................................................................................................................... 40 Figure 13 ..........................................................................................................................