米国都市学区における「通学区域制」の再考 : ミルウォーキー市の近隣学校計画(II 研究報告)

抄録

This paper examines the implications of "Neighborhood School Plans" in terms of how they unfolded in Milwaukee City District, Wisconsin. During the 1970s to 1990s periods, many urban school districts dissolved "Neighborhood Schools" so as to achieve racial integration among their students by busing and School Choice. However, in a new era of the 21st century, many districts have started shifting back to historical Neighborhood Schooling so as to reduce the busing-burden among non-white students. The particular version of the plan in this paper as it developed in the Milwaukee City District reevaluates the merits of neighborhood schooling, which is based on the Attendance Area Zone policy. Under this initiative, the working definition of a neighborhood school is "a Milwaukee Public school with an attendance area and that serves the students who live there, and where 70% of the students can walk to schools". The plan is expected to reduce the number of students riding buses to school from 70,000 a day to about 50,000 a day, saving the district about $15 million a year. The specific case of a neighborhood school in Milwaukee City is considered in this paper using collected data from a visit to Milwaukee City District from 2000 to 2001. The particular neighborhood school, Hi-Mount Community School, which is the object of the study, had been converted into a Community School in 1997 under the last principal, Spencer Korte, who became a superintendent of the district in 1999. "Community school" is a kind of concept on which a Neighborhood School is to be constructed. Under the district's plan of Neighborhood School they plan to extend their K-5 (Kindergarten to 5th grade) programming into K-8 by adding 6 to 8 grades so as to provide more spaces for students who live in their own attendance area zone. In addition they are going to provide "Before and After School Programs" in order to encourage parents to send their children to the neighborhood school in Hi-mount. In conclusion, this paper examines the possibilities and limits on a neighborhood school concept. These possibilities are as follows : First, they can reduce busing-burden mostly for non-white students and saving the district's budget. Secondly, they can meet the needs of students and their families through providing welfare services such as day-care programs, recreation and community services during school hours. So as to provide those services each school is to expand their partnerships with community agencies and organizations. Thirdly, they can help communities to regain a true sense of neighborhoods. However, we can point out the main problem above this plan as follows : they enlarge the problem of racial segregation based on residential patterns. Thus we should reconsider the history of "changes in Neighborhood Schoolings".