The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

Research Writing 141 and Wells reach much of the same conclusions. They explain that white parents, because they dominate the educational institutions, will always have the ability to enroll their children in schools with good standing (Roda and Wells 264). Roda and Wells claim that much of this happens by the ability to found charter schools (264). Furthermore, they claim that although some schools may be integrated in enrollment they are still segregated across classrooms. Because of the variety of AP classes and special courses, Roda and Wells claim that even racially integrated schools face classroom segregation (266). Rapp and Eckes, despite agreeing with the generalized hypothesis of de facto segregation, believe it occurs inamuchdifferent way. Rapp and Eckes refute the idea that the minority population remains in the public school system while privileged whites flee to charter schools. In fact, they conclude that in many states, there was almost no difference between the racial composition of public schools and charter schools (Rapp and Eckes 618). Furthermore, in some areas Rapp and Eckes reviewed studies from Green and the National Center for Educational Statistics and concluded, “On the contrary, many charter schools have disproportionately high percentages of racial minorities. For example, charter school data reveal that the percentage of Black students in charter schools is 20% higher than in traditional public schools” (617). Thus, Rapp and Eckes show that charter schools are not the vehicle for segregation. Despite these findings, they still conclude that white families avoid schools with a high percentage of African Americans (Rapp and Eckes 621). Finally, Rapp and Eckes reconcile these two facts with the assertion that white families opt for public education if charter schools contain a large minority population (621). Rapp and Eckes claim that although whites and blacks equally attend charter and public schools in the national sphere, segregation still occurs on a school-by-school basis. Despite the author’s universal belief that schools are segregated, Sikkink and Emerson, Roda and Wells, and Rapp and Eckes fail to concur which motive drives segregation. Sikkink and Emerson take a more direct view of de facto segregation by claiming racial profiling fuels segregation. Sikkink and Emerson believe that racial