Advances in Applied Sociology
2012. Vol.2, No.2, 102-110
Published Online June 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/aasoci) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2012.22014
Copyright © 2012 SciRe s . 102
Do Declining Neighborhood Economic Conditions Trump Hoped
for School Renovation Renewal Benefit?
Carolyn L. Grice1, John W. Hill2, Karen L. Hayes2
1Omaha Public Schools, Omaha, USA
2University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, USA
Received March 24th, 2012; revis ed Apr i l 2 2nd, 2012; a c c e p t ed May 8th, 2012
The purpose of this study was to determine 1) individual student achievement, 2) teacher mobility rates, 3)
perceptions of safety at school, and 4) student enrollment patterns, over time, in two recently renovated,
same city, urban, No Child Left Behind compliant, Title I elementary school buildings located in close
proximity neighborhoods one with improving the other with declining economic conditions. Achievement
results indicated that fifth-grade students (n = 18) who attended a renovated school second-grade through
fifth-grade in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions compared to fifth-grade students (n =
15) who attended a renovated school second-grade through fifth-grade in a neighborhood with declining
economic conditions had statistically greater high stakes Reading Total and Math Total but not Language
Total achievement test score improvement frequencies over time and statistically greater posttest-posttest
Normal Curve Equivalent high stakes achievement test score comparisons for Reading Total, Math Total,
and Language Total. Differing neighborhood economic conditions had no statistical effect on reported
teacher, student, and parent perceptions of school safety or teacher mobility rates, however, enrollment in
the renovated school in the neighborhood with declining economic conditions dropped significantly. We
conclude that declining neighborhood economic conditions trumped hoped for school renovation renewal
benefit. School closing policy and student open enrollment transfer options are discussed.
Keywords: School Renovation; Neighborhood Economics; Renewal Outcomes; Achievement
Introduction
During the past twenty-five years, an urban school district in
the Midwest has spent 362 million dollars renovating the ma-
jority of its existing schools located within lower socioeco-
nomic and impoverished neighborhoods of the city (Omaha
Public Schools, 2004). The urban school district also recently
constructed four completely new school buildings within these
same areas. Within these renovated and newly constructed
schools students learn (Kozol, 2005; Picus, Marion, Calvo, &
Glenn, 2005) and innovate (NEA 2004; Polakow & Pettigrew,
2006) with parent participation (Bryan 2005; Epstein, Sanders,
Simon, Salinas, Jansorn, & Van Voorhis, 2002) and community
support (Crew, 2007). However, almost overnight, several of
these schools find themselves operating in neighborhoods of
serious economic decline (Crowder & Adelman, 2000; Crowley,
2003; Tolnay, Rankin & Quane, 2000) and demolition of public
housing (Jacob, 2004; Varady, Raffel, Sweeny, & Denson,
2005). Because not all families can simply pick up and move to
another neighborhood (Baskerville, 2008; Earls, 2000) to avoid
these conditions, the students who remain in decreasing en-
rollment schools will typically be the most economically vul-
nerable (Anyon, Sadovinik, & Semel, 2001; Nichols & Gault,
2003), socially and emotionally fragile (Burke, 2002; Weisberg
& O’Brien, 2004), and educationally challenged (Taylor, 2005).
Therefore, it is important that we evaluate and determine the
impact of student learning in schools with increasing and de-
creasing enrollment patterns surrounded by economic im-
provement and decline and answer the question what is best for
students: Should students stay in these schools or should stu-
dents be reassigned to other schools by action of the school
district administration?
School Renovati on and Construction
Until recently, primarily from a lack of research, there was
little evidence to indicate that the quality of a school facility
impacted academic achievement (Picus et al., 2005). Most
states do not collect data regarding the condition of facilities
and student performance. Where facilities are in good condition,
there are no indicators of linking those conditions to achieve-
ment (Jones, Brener, & McManus, 2003). However, Reg Wea-
ver, Past President of the National Education Association (NEA,
2004) recently wrote:
There are no excuses for schools where the textbooks and
technology are as old as the parents of some of the children. In
the richest country in the world, there is no excuse for millions
of children attending public schools that are rundown. The
physical condition of public schools is critical to student
achievement and staff morale. Great public schools begin with
modern facilities (p. 1).
According to the NEA, school construction and building up-
grades are supported by the federal government through tax
credits to bond holders instead of payments on interest that
represents a major cost-saving incentive for taxpayers and school
districts, across the nation, to improve and upgrade their school
buildings.

C. L. GRICE ET AL.
Attendance
The location of a school (McLean, 2003) and the distance
from its population center can be a factor in attendance. Atten-
dance patterns are also affected by parents’ perceptions of
safety even if transportation is provided (Hirsch, Lewis-Palmer,
Sugai, & Schnacker, 2004). Schools surrounded by economic
decline are almost universally prejudged as being less safe than
more economically viable neighborhoods (Haws & Tennille,
2005; Storch, Krain, Kovacs, & Barlas, 2002). Parents of
younger children fear bullying by older children (Green, 2007;
Hall, 2005) and parents of upper elementary age students fear
the potential of their child being drawn into illegal and dange-
rous behavior, including drug and alcohol use, by older youth
who themselves may have dropped out of school (Kinlock,
Battejes, & Gordon, 2004; Plybon & Kliewer, 2001).
Economic Decline
Many neighborhoods have suffered economic decline over
the past years (Rankin & Quane, 2000). Inner city neighbor-
hoods previously described as a mixture of poor working class
families and middle class families are now considered disen-
franchised with poor families concentrated in isolated urban
settings. As neighborhoods decline economically the commu-
nity experiences increased crime, increased teen pregnancy, and
increased unemployment (Haley-Lock & Shah, 2007). Neigh-
borhoods in decline by definition are socially isolated. The
consequence of social isolation carries over to the schools.
Historically, African Americans migrated from the rural south
to the industrialized north for three primary reasons: 1) higher
wages, 2) greater job choice, and 3) better neighborhoods
(Tolnay et al., 2000). Studies of neighborhoods that were pre-
viously white, and later became integrated, found that any suc-
cesses achieved by African Americans moving there were
short-lived since the neighborhood eventually reverted back to
being segregated by race. Student mobility and academic
achievement have been a source of concern for decades (Crow-
ley, 2003).
Federal housing policy does not provide financial resources
sufficient for the lowest income families to afford decent hous-
ing. Poorer families move more often than mid dle c la ss families
and the reasons for the moves are less than positive in many
cases (Ainsworth, 2002). Stressors in family life that cause
increased mobility patterns include unsafe housing contributing
to poor health conditions, loss of a job, and nearby crime. Poor
families spend more than 30% of their incomes for housing
needs (Burkhauser & Sabia, 2007) and often need to work two
or three minimum wage jobs to afford even unsafe housing
(Secombe, 2002). Research has shown a correlation between
housing conditions and school performance (Nichols & Gault,
2003). Social isolation thought of as the lack of contact or sus-
tained interaction with individuals and institutions that repre-
sent mainstream society (Rankin & Quane, 2000) has also been
linked to living in poor inner city neighborhoods (Rankin &
Quane, 2000). Furthermore, data provided from the 2000 Cen-
sus indicates that children who live in families with incomes in
the lowest 20 percent live with only one parent, and nearly half
move every year. Within this same demographic over 4 million
children were reportedly living with grandparents, and one-
fourth of these grandparents have sole primary care responsi-
bilities for the children. These statistics present several chal-
lenges for schools in neighborhoods of poverty.
Demolition of Public Housing
In a comparative study analysis of the Hope VI Project in
four urban communities, it was found that the goal of develop-
ing public housing for mixed income families was difficult to
achieve (Varady et al., 2005). Only one of the four study sites
intentionally collaborates with the school district and other
government entities such as the city government and housing
authority. The Hope VI Project was created to replace public
housing that was beyond repair and replace it with less dense
developments, thereby reducing concentrations of poverty
through mixed income communities. The efforts in one of the
communities resulted in creating a community magnet school.
A study conducted in Chicago found that living in public hous-
ing was directly correlated with increased crime, economic and
racial segregation, lower achievement in school, and fewer job
opportunities for the residents (Varady, Raffel, Sweeney, &
Denson, 2005). These combine to lead to increases in mobility.
Housing vouchers were offered to individuals to encourage
them to find better and more affordable places to live, and when
all families had relocated, the public housing was razed.
Children Who Are Socially and Emotionally Fragile
In the most challenging of school environments, teachers
must remember they have an important role in the lives of their
students (Burke, 2002). For students of poverty, the teacher
plays an important social and emotional support role, second
only to the mother and father. Teachers must comprehend the
social and emotional needs of their students and view them as
unique, complex beings. A fearful, frightened, hungry, or
abused student has to have his/her emotional needs met before
he/she can concentrate on the lesson of the day. Minority stu-
dents succeed in schools where it has been determined that
there are no acceptable excuses for failure and no reliance on a
cultural deficit to prevent children from achieving—another
way adults, especially the teacher, communicate love and car-
ing (Towns, Cole-Henderson, & Serpell, 2000). In a study of
four schools across the country, factors utilized by school staffs
to help students achieve included going beyond goals and ex-
ceeding expectations while developing trust among the students
and their parents. Among the practices that aided this endeavor
were: 1) accountability of families, 2) careful consideration in
the process of selecting the teaching staff, 3) priority given to
teaching basic skills, and 4) adequate resources. As successful
learning takes place and children succeed in emotionally sup-
portive classrooms they become stronger and less socially and
emotionally fr agile.
Life experiences such as increased economic and social fa-
mily pressures, access to media, and weakening of social insti-
tutions like church have changed drastically since the late 20th
Century (Weisburg & O’Brien, 2004). Schools that serve high
needs students lacking such social and emotional skills have a
major challenge. Programs are being created to address social
issues like public and mental health, or juvenile justice initia-
tives, but many are not directly linked to the challenges educa-
tors encounter and of which they have no control. Social and
Emotional Learning (SEL), is defined as a conceptual frame-
work addressing the needs of children and the fragmentation of
school responses. SEL provides common language and a frame-
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C. L. GRICE ET AL.
work for communicating about family, school, and community
programs that teach academic success, health, service, character,
and citizenship, as well as social-emotional topics. Integrated
SEL programs assist schools in coordinating efforts and pro-
grams to promote positive social, emotional, and academic
growth of all students, especially those that are socially and
emotionally fr agile.
Review of Literature
The quality of a school is an important factor for people
when deciding where to live. The role of choice, not only in the
selection of a school but also in the selection of living in an
economically viable part of town, has become a significant
factor in school enrollment (Gordon & Richardson, 2001).
Property rights and value s are determined by where one chooses
as a place of residence. All families want to live in a neighbor-
hood that is affordable with opportunities for upward mobility
and the best possible educational programs for their children.
However, affordable, quality housing for low-income renters
and families is being eroded by the demolition of large public
housing projects (Nichols & Gault, 2003). Minimum wage
employment, lack of affordable low-income housing, and few
social support agencies often means that families facing poverty
must move to even less desirable neighborhoods that are ex-
periencing even greater economic decline with inferior and
crumbling schools (Kozol, 2005).
Urban Schools in Neighborhoods of Economic Decline
While neighborhood redevelopment planning is ongoing,
population decline in many urban neighborhoods has left
school district officials and planners with no option other than
to begin closing schools with rapidly decreasing student en-
rollments (Varady et al., 2005). Many parents, when they are
able to and have the economic means, relocate from decreasing
neighborhoods. Unfortunately, other parents with fewer eco-
nomic options, out of necessity, must keep their children in
schools that are deteriorating (Kozol, 1991; 2005; Meredith,
2003). These neighborhoods experience decreasing enrollment
patterns in the schools that remain open and become what is
referred to as transition neighborhoods (Crowley, 2003; Law-
hon, 2003). An intervention such as housing vouchers for low-
income families offers the opportunity to move to a neighbor-
hood that is stable with affordable housing. If the family does
not have to move then the mobility rate of the neighborhood
schools also remains stable. Studies clearly indicate that schools
in these transition neighborhoods must work harder to reach out
to parents to help them become engaged in the life of the school,
stay involved, feel valued and appreciated in order to ensure
student achievement and success in the midst of economic de-
cline (Meredith, 2003).
Models exist that are thought to be viable means in develop-
ing neighborhood designs in an effort to contain urban sprawl
(Lawhon, 2003). The impact of such designs determines the
number of people that will move to the area, which has a direct
correlation to the number of schools being built to accommo-
date the population. Wealthier citizens have the ability to move
to the suburbs while many citizens, left in the core of an urban
city, need more health care, have transportation issues, partici-
pate in welfare programs, and do not have the finances to pay
for needed services (Meredith, 2003).
School closures and consolidations are inevitable because of
decreasing birthrates and baby boomers growing older ( McLean,
2003). School boards see these closures and consolidations as a
way to save money. Opposition to school closures range from
the school being the heart of the community, to needing more
study before determining to close a school, as well as looking at
the housing and business development occurring in the area
(McLean, 2003). Parents with few economic options have little
choice but to stay in schools with decreasing enrollments. Jobs
or lack of jobs keep them in the area, as does minimal access to
transportation.
Research indicates that schools in areas of economic decline
1) provide fewer learning options (Frankenberg & Lee, 2002), 2)
a less experienced teacher core (Breitborde, 2002; Gehrke,
2005), and 3) deteriorating facilities, all considered to be detri-
mental to the learning success of children. Unequal opportuni-
ti es and outcomes are linked to concentrations of pover ty , w hic h
are connected to segregation by race and poverty (Frankenberg
& Lee, 2002).
Deteriorating Facilities
It has become a necessity to close the gap in the quality of
school facilities for the education of children (Arsen & Davis,
2006). Eleven states have court decisions that mandated local
districts to improve buildings attended by a disproportionate
number of children from low-income families. Feasibility pro-
cedures, created to determine calculations for the cost of whether
school facilities are negatively impacting academic achieve-
ment, include measuring the existing capital stock—such as
school buildings and related infrastructure—and determining
the cost of bringing existing school facilities up to an adequate
standard (Argon, 2008). As school districts find ways to im-
prove student achievement, the physical condition of the build-
ing plays a significant role (Argon, 2008). Many school dis-
tricts nationwide are reacting to economic strains as they look
at maintenance and operations budgets. Because of increases in
costs of energy and utilities, funds are being taken from other
areas resulting in a continued decrease in funds to maintain the
facilities, thereby causing deterioration that is not being re-
paired. Even though costs are increasing, the most recent cost
analysis indicates that maintenance and operation budgets have
decreased to 8.35 percent, down from 9.19 percent from the
previous year (Argon, 2008).
Furthermore, in a recent study on the wellbeing of school
facilities to determine to what degree schools have healthy,
physical environments, one third of the reporting districts—
affecting about 14 million students—reported school buildings
in need of extensive repair or outright replacement (Jones,
Brener, & McManus, 2003). Also, nearly half of the schools
reported unsatisfactory conditions such as heating, lighting, and
ventilation issues. Urban schools with high minority and low-
income students had the greatest percentage of these problems.
However, an important finding in the study noted that many
urban districts have placed a high priority in changing or re-
placing these types of facilities and thus, improving student
achievement.
Parent Choice, Voice, and Power
The degree of success for school choice in decreasing
neighborhoods is dependent on how a school district structures
program offerings and how receptive families of the available
options are to engage them (Godwin, Leland, Baxter, & South-
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C. L. GRICE ET AL.
worth, 2006). There are four structural components that are
critical for a successful school choice program: 1) information,
2) transportation, 3) whether choice is voluntary or mandatory,
and 4) whether the policy uses a lottery to determine spaces or
utilizes a preferential process for students who meet specific
criteria. Three years after implementing a mandatory choice
plan, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District eliminated the
word mandatory from the name of the choice policy. It also
prevented students from choosing schools that had exceeded
their enrollment capacity. Students not able to attend the schools
of their choice, particularly students on free and reduced lunch,
were most likely to remain in schools considered low-perform-
ing, as defined in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The
choice by parents varied depending on income. Their choices
were usually based on academic achievement. By eliminating
the choice obstacle for the district, it began to stress continuity
and tried to prevent transfers from school to school.
Research has determined several factors that contribute to
low academic achievement scores for African American stu-
dents: 1) low participation of parents, 2) high poverty, 3) lack
or little communication between school and families, and 4)
lack of resources (Trotman, 2001). Parents are their children’s
first teachers and they should serve as their advocates and deci-
sion-makers, collaborating with school staff to meet their needs.
Schools have taken on roles normally assumed by parents and
unintentionally pushed parents away from any type of collabo-
ration, even though research shows that the more parents are
involved in their children’s education, the more they achieve.
The collaboration with parents needs to be meaningful and the
child needs to understand everyone is helping them achieve
their highest potential. The nuclear two-parent family of de-
cades past has been replaced with single parent or blended
families. Most low-income children live in single-parent fami-
lies headed by women, often unemployed. If parents are em-
ployed, they are most likely working one or more minimum
wage jobs that limit time with their children. Parents experience
isolation from their child’s school, defined as a lack of connec-
tion, which makes them feel out of place, particularly when
they perceive discrimination. When this occurs parents refuse
to communicate with school staff (Brandon, 2007). The role of
the educator is a major factor between African American fami-
lies and the education process. Unfortunately, there are educa-
tors who show a lack of respect for the ways in which parents
raise their children. The lack of respect may be the result of not
being prepared to work with cultures different than their own or
unwillingness to learn the cultures of their students. All educa-
tors need to know that poverty does not equate to a lack of in-
telligence (Davis, 2006).
Family-School Partnerships
In decreasing neighborhoods it is imperative that family-
school partnerships be formed that provide a school-based ac-
tion team framework that fosters parenting, communicating,
volunteering, learning, decisi on-maki ng, an d coll aborating wit hin
the community (Epstein et al., 2002). Partnerships involving
civic activities, cultural opportunities, business, and health
agencies should also be considered. One challenge would be to
ensure equity for students and families to engage in programs
and services of the community. Based on the study of several
parent and community involvement models, students who have
families actively involved in their education will most likely be
successful in school (Lunenburg & Irby, 2002). Barton (2004)
discusses a framework for shifting how educators understand
parent involvement in their children’s schools. Barton asserts
that parents may be of two minds about direct school engage-
ment, supportive of their child’s daily school experiences but
unsure about the schools role in the community. The framework
also provides parents a means to impact what happens to their
children. Models of parent involvement in neighborhoods of
economic stress and decline can be defined as useful in repre-
senting the range and type of activities that might be incorpo-
rated in parent involvement programs. Partnership programs
that include parents and empower them to assist with their chil-
dren’s education have been shown to be effective in improving
academic achievement and have a positive effect on parent-
teacher-school relationships (Barton, 2004).
Methodology
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to determine 1) individual
student achievement, 2) teacher mobility rates, 3) perceptions
of safety at school, and 4) student enrollment patterns, over
time, in two recently renovated, same city, urban, No Child Left
Behind compliant, Title I elementary school buildings located
in close proximity neighborhoods one with improving the other
with declining economic conditions.
Student Participant Demographics
Participants were fifth-grade students who attended reno-
vated schools second-grade through fifth-grade in either a
neighborhood with improving economic conditions or a neigh-
borhood of declining economic conditions. In the renovated
Title 1 elementary school facility in a neighborhood with im-
proving economic conditions students gender was male n = 7
(39%) and female n = 11 (61%) while in the renovated Title 1
elementary school facility in a neighborhood with declining
economic conditions students gender was male n = 9 (60%) and
female n = 6 (40%). The age range of study participants was 7
years old at the beginning of the study and 11 years old at the
time of posttest data collection at both schools. Ethnicity of the
students enrolled in the renovated Title 1 elementary school
facility in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions
was Black n = 5 (28%), Hispanic n = 5 (28%), White n = 7
(39%), and American Indian n = 1 (5%) and the ethnicity of the
students enrolled in the renovated Title 1 elementary school
facility in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions
was Black n = 14 (93%) and White n = 1 (7%). Sixteen out of
18 (88%) of the students attending the elementary school faci-
lity in a neighborhood with economic improvement and 14 out
of 15 (93%) of the students attending the elementary school
facility in a neighborhood with economic decline were eligible
for participation in the free and/or reduced price lunch program.
Description of Procedures
California Achievement norm-referenced reading, math, and
language Normal Curve Equivalent test scores of students at-
tending both schools from second-grade through fifth-grade
were compared to determine the impact of economic conditions
on hoped for individual student achievement school renovation
benefit. Climate survey results from 2007 were analyzed and
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C. L. GRICE ET AL.
compared to determine if there was a difference in reported
teacher, student, and parent perceptions of how safe they feel in
school and teacher mobility rates were analyzed from 2004-
2007. Also analyzed were student enrollment patterns over this
same time period for each of the schools.
Research Desi gn
The two-group comparative efficacy study design is dis-
played in the following notation:
School 1 O1 X1 O2
School 2 O1 X2 O2
School #1. Renovated same city, urban, close proximity, No
Child Left Behind compliant, Title I elementary school build-
ing.
School #2. Renovated same city, urban, close proximity, No
Child Left Behind compliant, Title I elementary school build-
ing.
X1 = study independent variable, neighborhood economic
circumstance, condition #1. School located in a neighborhood
with improving economic c o nd i t i o ns .
X2 = study independent variable, neighborhood economic
circumstance, condition #2. School located in a neighborhood
with declining economic conditions.
O1 = study school renovation renewal benefit pretest de-
pendent measures. 1) Individual student achievement as mea-
sured by the California Achievement Test (CAT) Nor ma l Curve
Equivalent Scores (NCE) completed in March 2004 for second-
grade students’ a) Reading Total, b) Math Total, and c) Lan-
guage Total.
O2 = study school renovation renewal benefit posttest de-
pendent measures. 1) Individual student achievement as mea-
sured by the California Achievement Test (CAT) Nor ma l Curve
Equivalent Scores (NCE) completed in March 2007 for fifth-
grade students’ a) Reading Total, b) Math Total, and c) Lan-
guage Total. 2) School wide Climate Survey response to the
statement: Students feel safe at this school, as measured in
March 2007. 3) School wide stable or changing teacher mobi-
lity rates as measured by a) active, b) transferred, c) terminated,
and d) retired teacher frequency categories. 4) School wide
student enrollment patterns over time for each of the schools.
Research Questions
The following five research questions guided the study:
1) Do fifth-grade students attending a renovated school lo-
cated in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions
and fifth-grade students attending a renovated school located in
a neighborhood with declining economic conditions have con-
gruent or different second-grade pretest compared to fifth-grade
po sttest Reading Total, Math Total, and Language Total achie ve-
ment test lose or improve score frequencies?
2) Do fifth-grade students attending a renovated school lo-
cated in a with improving economic conditions and fifth-grade
students attending a renovated school located in a neighborhood
with declining economic conditions have congruent or different
fifth-grade posttest compared to fifth-grade posttest Reading
Total, Math Total, and Language Total Normal Curve Equiva-
lent achievement test scores?
3) Do teachers, students, and parents who are teaching, at-
tending, and participating in a renovated school located in a
neighborhood with improving economic conditions and teachers,
students, and parents who are teaching, attending, and partici-
pating in a renovated school located in a neighborhood with
declining economic conditions report congruent or different post-
test perceptions of whether, Students feel safe at this school?
4) Do teachers in a renovated school located in a neighbor-
hood with improving economic conditions and teachers in a
renovated school located in a neighborhood with declining
economic conditions have congruent or different posttest mo-
bility rates by categories for transferred out, terminated, or re-
tired or active?
5) Does the renovated school located in a neighborhood with
improving economic conditions and the renovated school lo-
cated in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions
have congruent or different posttest student enrollment patterns
over time?
Assumptions and Limitations of the Stu dy
The design of this study had several strong features including
1) school district leadership focused on having state-of-the-art
school buildings, facilities, and programs regardless of the con-
dition of the surrounding neighborhood’s economic condition,
2) teachers with experience who are committed to urban educa-
tion regardless of the condition of the surrounding neighbor-
hoods, and 3) teachers who are assigned to their school of
choice regardless of the condition of the surrounding neighbor-
hoods. All data were uniformly collected and available through
the school district’s database. Finally, participating school dis-
trict and University of Nebraska Medical Center/University of
Nebraska at Omaha Joint Institutional Review Board for the
Protection of Human Subjects approval was granted for the
study before data were analyzed. However, the small sample
size of the two urban schools reflecting differing neighborhood
economic conditions could skew the statistical results and limit
the utility and generalizability of the study findings.
Results
Research question #1 results indicated that fifth-grade stu-
dents (n = 18) who attended a renovated school second-grade
through fifth-grade in a neighborhood with improving eco-
nomic conditions compared to fifth-grade students (n = 15) who
attended the renovated school second-grade through fifth-grade
in a neighborhood of declining economic conditions had statis-
tically greater high stakes achievement test score improvement
frequencies over time, second-grade to fifth-grade, for chi-
square Reading Total X2(1, N = 33) = 5.241, p = 0.02 and for
chi-square with Yates’ correction applied Math Total (1,
N = 33) = 6.546, p = 0.01, but not for chi-square with Yates’
correction applied Language Total (1, N = 33) = 1.560, p
= 0.21. Research question #2 results found that posttest-posttest
Normal Curve Equivalent achievement test score comparisons
were statistically greater for fifth-grade students attending a
renovated school in a neighborhood with improving economic
conditions Reading Total (M = 51.39, SD = 18.01; Math Total
M = 54.50, SD = 19.01; Language Total M = 51.94, SD = 20.66)
compared to fifth-grade students attending a renovated school
in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions (Read-
ing Total M = 33.07, SD = 11.36; Math Total M = 31.07, SD =
15.99; Language Total M = 35.47, SD = 10.70) for all three
achievement test measures where the independent t test analysis
for Reading Total was t(31) = 3.41, p = 0.001 (one-tailed), d =
2
Yates
X
2
Yates
X
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C. L. GRICE ET AL.
0.760, Math Total was t(31) = 3.78, p = 0.0003 (one-tailed), d =
0.850, and Language Total was t(31) = 2.79, p = 0.004 (one-
tailed), d = 0.608. Results for research questions #1 and #2
indicate that positive student achievement improvement fre-
quencies and higher achievement test score values may be more
likely to occur over time in a renovated urban school in a
neighborhood with improving economic conditions while neigh-
borhood declining economic conditions may trump any hoped
for school renovation student achievement benefit. Research
question #3 chi-square results found that fifth-grade students
attending a renovated school in a neighborhood with improving
economic conditions and their teachers and parents compared to
fifth-grade students attending a renovated school in a neighbor-
hood with declining economic conditions and their teachers and
parents had congruent posttest responses to the statement, Stu-
dents feel safe at this school, where X2(2, N = 422) = 0.523, p =
0.76. Equipoise in this statistical comparison represents hoped
for school renovation benefit where all respondents believe
students are safe regardless of the neighborhood’s economic
condition. Research question #4 results posit that fifth-grade
teachers staffing a renovated school in a neighborhood with
improving economic conditions compared to teachers staffing a
renovated school in a neighborhood with declining economic
conditions had congruent posttest mobility rates by categories
for transferred out, terminated, or retired or active where X2(1 ,
N = 131) = 0.384, p = 0.53. Again, Equipoise in this statistical
comparison represents hoped for school renovation benefit
represented by a stable teaching force not affected by the
neighborhood’s economic condition. However, over the four
year study, enrollment in the renovated school in the neighbor-
hood with declining economic conditions dropped significantly
from 328 students to 264 students while enrollment in the
renovated school in the neighborhood with improving eco-
nomic conditions remained stable with 307 students to 309
students where X2(1, N = 1208) = 3.753, p = 0.05.
Conclusion
Inspecting the chi-square lose and improve second-grade to
fifth-grade Reading Total and Math Total frequencies and per-
cents highlights the plausibility that neighborhood economic
conditions can impact hoped for school renovation achievement
benefit. Arguably reading and math are the most important
indicators of student success and preparedness for academic
promotion and continuing school—and even life—success. Stu-
dents attending a renovated urban school in a neighborhood
with improving economic conditions with higher fifth-grade
compared to second-grade Reading Total scores n = 12 (67%)
were statistically more likely than students attending a reno-
vated urban school in a neighborhood with declining economic
conditions to also have higher fifth-grade compared to se-
cond-grade Reading Total scores n = 4 (27%). Lower fifth-
grade compared to second-grade Reading Total score compari-
sons for students attending a renovated urban school in a
neighborhood with improving economic conditions were n = 6
(33%) and for students attending a renovated urban school in a
neighborhood with declining economic conditions the observed
frequency was a troubling n = 11 (73%). This pattern was also
observed in the Math Total score comparisons where students
attending a renovated urban school in a neighborhood with
improving economic conditions with higher fifth-grade com-
pared to second-grade Math Total scores n = 8 (44%) were
statistically more likely than students attending a renovated
urban school in a neighborhood with declining economic con-
ditions to have higher fifth-grade compared to second-grade
Math Total scores n = 0 (0%). Lower fifth-grade compared to
second-grade Math Total score comparisons for students at-
tending a renovated urban school in a neighborhood with im-
proving economic conditions were n = 10 (56%) and for stu-
dents attending a renovated urban school in a neighborhood
with declining economic conditions the observed frequency
was again a troubling n = 15 (100%). Language Total score
comparisons where students were attending a renovated urban
school in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions
with higher fifth-grade compared to second-grade Language
Total scores n = 7 (39%) were not statistically more likely than
students attending a renovated urban school in a neighborhood
with declining economic conditions to have higher fifth-grade
compared to second-grade Language Total scores n = 2 (13%).
Lower fifth-grade compared to second-grade Language Total
score comparisons for students attending a renovated urban
school in a neighborhood with improving economic conditions
were n = 11 (61%) and for students attending a renovated urban
school in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions
the observed frequency was n = 13 (87%). While equipoise was
observed for the overall chi-square Language Total score com-
parisons lower fifth-grade compared to second-grade scores
observed for students attending both schools, lower scores over
time, account for the negative direction congruence.
Overall, California Achievement Test, Normal Curve Equi-
valent scores for students attending both renovated schools in
neighborhoods with improving and declining economic condi-
tions end of fifth-grade posttest scores were measured within
the below average and average ranges. Students attending a
renovated urban school in a neighborhood with improving
economic conditions had a statistically greater mean Reading
Total Normal Curve Equivalent score of 51.39 with a corre-
sponding percentile rank of 53 and a stanine score of 5, the
middle stanine of the average range, a statistically greater mean
Math Total Normal Curve Equivalent score of 54.50 with a
corresponding percentile rank of 58 and a stanine score of 6, the
highest stanine of the average range, and a statistically greater
mean Language Total Normal Curve Equivalent score of 51.94
with a corresponding percentile rank of 53 and a stanine score
of 5, the middle stanine of the average range compared to stu-
dents attending a renovated urban school in a neighborhood
with declining economic conditions had a mean Reading Total
Normal Curve Equivalent score of 33.07 with a corresponding
percentile rank of 21 and a stanine score of 4, the lowest stanine
of the average range, a mean Math Total Normal Curve Equi-
valent score of 31.07 with a corresponding percentile rank of 18
and a stanine score of 3, the highest stanine of the below ave-
rage range, and a mean Language Total Normal Curve Equiva-
lent score of 35.47 with a corresponding percentile rank of 23
and a stanine score of 4, the lowest stanine of the average range.
Although scores for students attending a renovated urban
school in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions
were at or near the average range, lower fifth-grade compared
to second-grade scores noted in research question #1 results
represents lost potential and reduced school renovation achieve-
ment benefit for these students across time.
However, differing neighborhood economic conditions had
no statistical effect on reported teacher, student, and parent
perceptions of how safe they believe students are in school or
Copyright © 2012 SciRe s . 107

C. L. GRICE ET AL.
teacher mobility rates. Equipoise for these comparisons repre-
sents school renovation benefit. The teacher mobility patterns
of both schools reflect full teacher staffing, that is while te ac her s
were transferred out, terminated, or retired new teachers were
hired or transferred in to maintain an appropriate student to
teacher ratio. Maintaining a teaching staff is important to the
wellbeing of students, continuity of instruction, and parent and
community belief that the school is a safe place central to a
strong community. Equipoise found in these two research ques-
tions represents numerical good news for both schools. Even
with these positive findings, however, the decreasing enroll-
ment pattern observed over time in the renovated urban school
in a neighborhood with declining economic conditions repre-
sents a loss of program viability and school enrollment renova-
tion renewal benefit.
Discussion
Parents may want to study choice options for their children
attending a school with declining achievement scores over time
for the same group of children. The ability to choose what
school a parent would want their child to attend must be part of
a district school choice plan. While there are studies that sug-
gest that the type of neighborhood does not greatly impact aca-
demic achievement (Thompson, 2003) the relationship between
poorer more troubled neighborhoods student achievement and
school enrollment patterns cannot be totally ignored. Under-
standing a student’s neighborhood could help educators formu-
late better policy on what educational and life skills to teach so
that enrolled students become academically successful, as well
as socially, emotionally, and behaviorally successful through
resilience intervention (Reid, 2007). By mitigating the negative
effects of living in poverty at the individual or household level,
community development and neighborhood revitalization ef-
forts should result in creating and implementing important
strategies for mediating the effects of neighborhood poverty
(Reid, 2007). There are many cases where community deve-
lopment efforts have failed to connect low-income families to
strong neighborhoods with good schools and living-wage em-
ployment. Reid (2007) further states that community develop-
ment organizations are moving toward more comprehensive
strategies for neighborhood revitalization that consider local
needs while building leadership among local residents and or-
ganizations, and investing in both people and place based
strategies to lessen the effects of poverty. The links between
neighborhood poverty and schools and efforts to integrate edu-
cation reform with community development opportunities are
likely to do more than pursuing each of them alone, according
to Warren (2005). Breaking down traditional divisions between
school reform and community development to coordinate their
efforts to revitalize neighborhoods has begun in many areas.
In the main, students who felt safe despite exposure to vio-
lence in their neighborhood, performed better on achievement
tests (Ratner, Chiodo, Covington, Sokol, & Ager, 2006). How-
ever, community violence has been linked to behavior problems
in children from preschool through late adolescence. The re-
sults of this study are consistent with the findings of other re-
search where greater exposure to violence was significantly
related to poorer cognitive and achievement performance. Fur-
ther, these results indicate the possible damage across such a
wide range of cognitive skills and abilities. Children who re-
ported feeling safe in this study stated there were positive, ‘care
giving’ adults in their lives. They also were considered resilient
for their ability to overcome personal adversity and still be
successful in school (Ratner et al., 2006). Dysfunctional family
behavior led to a sense of feeling less safe, in the study.
Neighborhoods in economic decline may experience high rates
of crime and violence. Isolation is manifested out of fear by
parents when living in dangerous neighborhoods where families
stay to themselves. Neighborhoods of economic stability or
improvement find parents not as fearful about safety and more
likely to connect to teachers, neighbors, and other families. One
concern of high mobility families is that it disrupted social
connections considered significant in the development of chil-
dren (Pettit, 2004; Sinha, Payne, & Cook, 2005). This results in
the weakening of the foundation of success including academic
achievement.
Warren (2005) asked the question, What sense does it make
to try to reform urban schools while the communities around
them stagnate or collapse? It is not feasible to restructure
schools in isolation of the development of the surrounding
community. Linking schools to the development in the com-
munities in which they are located 1) improves the living con-
ditions of families and the health of low-income communities,
2) creates conditions in which students are better able to learn,
and 3) delivers greater resources to schools (Warren, 2005).
Urban districts have many factors to contemplate when making
decisions to close or maintain schools suffering decreasing
enrollment due to achievement scores, especially when this
occurs over time and does not seem to improve (Sinha et al.,
2005). Parents need assistance in determining if they want their
children to remain in such a school or be provided the choice to
att end sc hool elsewhe re. The ability to move to ano t h e r n e ighbor-
hood where crime rates, transportation, and employment are
factors to be conside re d i s crucial (Viteritti, 2005).
Because the research school is located in a school district that
is a member of the eleven school district Learning Community
of Douglas and Sarpy Counties, NE, legislatively charged with
reducing social and academic barriers to student achievement
through open enrollment and resource equity, students may
transfer through open enrollment to schools within the two
county learning community where there are openings and their
attendance would contribute to improving the economic diver-
sity of the school they will attend (Nebraska State Statute 79-
2104, Final Diversity Plan, Approved December 16, 2010).
Therefore, in the research school where renovation did not re-
sult in improved student achievement and enrollment was de-
creasing we assert that proactively assisting families to transfer
their students to a learning community school—intra home
district or inter learning community district—in a more positive
environment is both prudent and warran ted.
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