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Researchers increasingly explore the consequences of policing for the educational outcomes of minority youth. This study contributes to this literature by asking: First, what are racial/ethnic disparities in long-term exposure to neighborhood policing? Second, how does this exposure affect high school graduation? Third, how much of the ethnoracial gap in high school graduation would remain if neighborhood policing was equalized? To address these questions, we use data from the New York City Department of Education and follow five cohorts of NYC public school students from middle to high school. Our findings reveal starkly different experiences with neighborhood policing across racial/ethnic groups. Using novel methods for time-varying treatment effects, we find that long-term exposure to neighborhood policing has negative effects on high school graduation with important differences across racial/ethnic groups. Using gap- closing estimands, we show that assigning a sample of Black and Latino students to the same level of neighborhood policing as white students would close the Black-white gap in high school graduation by more than one quarter and the Latino-white gap by almost one fifth. Alternatively, we explore interventions where policing is solely a function of violent crime, which close the Black-white gap by as much as one-tenth. Our study advances previous research by focusing on cumulative, long-term exposure to neighborhood policing and by assessing various counterfactual scenarios that inform research and policy. Keywords: Policing, Education, Inequality, Neighborhoods, Racial Disparities
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This content will become publicly available on June 16, 2026
Promoting Resilience? The Role of Schools and Neighborhoods in Supporting the Success of Students Experiencing Homelessness
Experiencing homelessness is largely associated with negative educational outcomes, yet some students continue to achieve academically despite housing loss. Drawing on a framework from resilience research, I develop school and neighborhood resource measures and analyze data from the state of Michigan to provide the first empirical evidence of which school and neighborhood resources support or undermine the educational resilience of students experiencing homelessness, including their attendance and English language arts and math achievement. I find that school and neighborhood resources demonstrate varied associations across outcomes, with patterns that might suggest they can support and undermine educational outcomes. I conclude with implications for policy and future research.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1749275
- PAR ID:
- 10625387
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sage
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Educational Researcher
- ISSN:
- 0013-189X
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- achievement at-risk students regression analyses social stratification
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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