Demographic segregationFull briefing
Exactly one NYC public school is 90%+ Black — but 54 are 90%+ Hispanic
The longer form of the briefing for this story: the original thesis, the supporting findings the data team flagged, and the reporting directions a journalist could follow. For the short version and the data analysis, see the main story page.
Thesis
When educators talk about racial segregation in NYC public schools, the language often centers on Black students. The data shows a different pattern: only one school is 90%+ Black, but 54 schools are 90%+ Hispanic and 75 are majority-white. The geography of NYC segregation is structurally Latino-isolating, not Black-isolating.
Supporting findings
- NYC schools (2024-25) with single-race concentrations >50%:
- 90%+ Black: 1 school
- 90%+ Hispanic: 54 schools
- 50%+ White: 75 schools
- 50%+ Asian: 93 schools
- This doesn't mean Black students aren't in segregated environments — it means the segregation works differently (mixed Black/Hispanic schools, not Black-only).
- Hispanic 90%+ concentration is concentrated in Washington Heights (D6), East Tremont (D9), Bushwick (D32), Sunset Park (D15).
- Asian 50%+ concentration is in Flushing (D25, D26), Sunset Park, Chinatown.
- White 50%+ is in Park Slope (D15), Tribeca (D2), Upper West Side (D3), Bay Ridge (D20), Riverdale (D10).
- Compare with Chicago, LA, DC where Black-only schools are far more common.
- Look at the most-diverse schools (those balanced across groups) — what neighborhoods?
- Compare with 1990s — has the Hispanic-concentration pattern intensified?
- Cross-reference with immigration data (esp. Central American, Dominican, Mexican).
Reporting directions
- Pull NYC Open Data school-by-race time series back to 2010.
- Talk to Pedro Noguera at USC Rossier on NYC's specific segregation pattern.
- Visit one of the 54 Hispanic-90%+ schools and one of the white-50%+ schools.
- Compare with Census tract data on residential segregation — is school segregation worse than neighborhood segregation?