海角大神

Sandie Villanueva could have lived a very different life.

Growing up in Rampart, a historically high-crime district west of downtown, she wasn't sure college was part of her plans. Her parents hadn't gone, after all. But when a middle school teacher urged her to attend a magnet high school in the San Fernando Valley, Ms. Villanueva 鈥� with her parents鈥� support 鈥� jumped at the chance.

The decision, she says, was among the best she has ever made. The students at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School were mostly middle class, and almost all were on track for college.

鈥淚 was in an environment where every student was focused,鈥� says Villanueva, who became the first member of her family to earn a bachelor's degree and now works as a development associate at a local nonprofit. She plans to enter law school in the next few years. 鈥淚 think my life trajectory would have been really different if I鈥檇 gone to school in my neighborhood,鈥� she says.

But Villanueva鈥檚 case 鈥� where a young person connects with peers from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds 鈥� is more than ever an exception to the rule.

out of the University of Southern California has found that between 1999 and 2010, income inequality in the United States has increased most among families with children, especially public school families.

The widening income gap in that demographic is the top driver of in the nation鈥檚 100 largest metro areas, according to the study 鈥� in part because wealthier families are flocking to school districts and neighborhoods with more and better educational services, leaving poorer and even middle-income families behind.

鈥淢ost parents want to do right by their kids, and one way they can do that is to try to live somewhere with better school options,鈥� says Ann Owens, the study鈥檚 author and an associate professor at USC鈥檚 sociology department. 鈥淏ut as income inequality has increased, higher-income parents have more resources to live where they want to live, while those with lower incomes have less.鈥�

While less pernicious than the racism that led to segregated schools and the 鈥渨hite flight鈥� of the 1970s, the findings lead to a troubling conclusion: that children face greater and growing stratification in neighborhood settings than the whole population of residents. The trend, writes Professor Owens, 鈥渉as implications for growing inequalities in their future outcomes,鈥� and could propel a cycle of inequality and isolation for children at all levels of the income spectrum.

鈥淏oth [neighborhoods and schools] have been proven to be really important contexts for kids,鈥� Owens says. 鈥淩esearch has shown that school poverty is a big contributor to future income gaps. I think that the body of evidence has really converged that integration is key.鈥�

'A parenting arms race'

Among the reasons richer families with children have begun to pull away 鈥� literally and figuratively 鈥� from their lower-income counterparts is the rise of a culture of parenting that places more priority than ever on children鈥檚 school performance, Owens says. As of 2013, only 1 percent of the nation鈥檚 26 million sixth through 12th graders had parents who did not expect them to earn a high school diploma, according to by the National Center for Education Statistics.

By contrast, 64 percent had parents who expected them to finish college; of those, 36 percent were expected to go to graduate school.

鈥淧eople are spending more on kids, [and] are very anxious about their kids getting ahead,鈥� Owens says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a parenting arms race.鈥�

All those private music lessons, test prep, coding classes, and Mandarin can cost hundreds of dollars a month 鈥� not a line item in lower-income family budget. The effect can be to crowd out otherwise bright young children from working class or poor families who don't have those advantages.

鈥淣ow, your family income matters more than your own abilities in terms of whether you complete college," said Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, . "Smart poor kids are less likely to graduate from college now than dumb rich kids. That's not because of the schools, that's because of all the advantages that are available to rich kids."

And research shows that children from underserved communities struggle to shake off the negative impact of their ZIP codes in other aspects of their lives. They are to get involved in or become victims of crime or violence, and less likely to perform well in school, earn a degree, or make a salary that rivals their more affluent peers.

鈥淥ftentimes in low-income communities, the very programs and classes that help kids to stay inspired and stay on track academically are minimized or watered down or canceled altogether,鈥� says Tony Brown, executive director of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), a nonprofit in the Rampart district that runs after-school programs for underserved youth 鈥� and where Villanueva now works.

鈥淏ut I go across the street to wealthier neighborhoods, and even in public school systems, parents can supplement the after-school provision of arts and STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math],鈥� Mr. Brown says. 鈥淪o there鈥檚 the gap that never gets closed.鈥�

Lessons in empathy

There also are societal costs to having children never play or learn with others who live differently than they do.

Children in segregated environments 鈥渕iss out on compassion, on truly understanding what the world is like,鈥� says Billy Eddy, a television writer who takes his third-grade son and first-grade daughter to Citizens of the World Charter School, which brings together students of all races and incomes. 鈥淢y son and daughter have friends whose houses are big and friends whose houses are small. They see the great things in the houses and don鈥檛 focus on the material things.鈥�

鈥淚n L.A.,鈥� he notes, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 a bit rare.鈥�

As the US becomes more diverse, a child鈥檚 ability to empathize with others becomes an increasingly crucial skill, says Mark Kleger-Heine, executive director of CWC, which has campuses in Los Angeles and New York.

CWC, he says, prides itself on 鈥渄iversity by design.鈥� Some 22 percent of the students across its five campuses are African American and 28 percent are Latino, Mr. Kleger-Heine says. About half qualify for the federal government鈥檚 free and reduced lunch program. Households range from those in transitional housing to those where parents are well-known in the entertainment industry.

鈥淭he perspectives and opinions of children vary greatly depending on their home life,鈥� adds Ramona Patrick, principal at CWC鈥檚 campus in L.A.鈥檚 Silver Lake neighborhood. 鈥淲hen kids of different backgrounds talk to each other, they automatically understand that not everyone is the same as you. That鈥檚 really important.鈥�

New models of education

To Owens, who authored the USC study released Wednesday, CWC embodies the kind of educational model she recommends based on her findings.

鈥淧olicymakers,鈥� she writes, 鈥渘eed to consider new ideas in breaking the link between neighborhood residence and school attendance to thwart the increasing pace of segregation between neighborhoods, schools, and school districts among families with children.鈥�

Meanwhile, where schools themselves don鈥檛 provide racial and economic diversity, after-school programs such as HOLA step in and offer free courses in music, the arts, and academics.

Villanueva, the Rampart native, credits her time with the organization鈥檚 high school program for helping her get into Loyola Marymount University, the private Catholic school where she earned her political science degree. She also says the experience, combined with her decision to go to high school outside her neighborhood, built her confidence and helped her realize her potential.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in an environment where you only see one thing, you don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 out there, that there are these possibilities,鈥� Villanueva says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very important. Everyone needs to be included.鈥�