Why Are Studies of Neighborhoods and Communities Central to Education Policy and Reform?

To understand the long shadow of education policy and reform in the United States, especially in the urban core, requires a full and elaborate understanding of the neighborhoods and communities that have transformed in the last 20 or 30 years. Studying classrooms and educational spaces without concomitant understanding of the dynamics and facets of neighborhood life render educational, political, and policy analyses potentially incomplete. This afterword serves to remind the reader of the key issues in each article and identify the key issues raised from the authors for implications for more robust study of neighborhoods, communities, and education policy.