William Frantz Public School: One School, One Century, Many Stories

William Frantz Public School (WFPS) in New Orleans, Louisiana, played a significant role in the story of desegregation in public K-12 education in the United States. This story began in 1960 when first-grader, Ruby Bridges, surrounded by federal marshals, climbed the steps to enroll as the school’s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Connie Lynn Schaffer, Corine Meredith Brown, Meg White, Martha Graham Viator
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Alberta 2018-12-01
Series:Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education
Online Access:https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/jcie/index.php/JCIE/article/view/29344
Description
Summary:William Frantz Public School (WFPS) in New Orleans, Louisiana, played a significant role in the story of desegregation in public K-12 education in the United States. This story began in 1960 when first-grader, Ruby Bridges, surrounded by federal marshals, climbed the steps to enroll as the school’s first Black student. Yet many subsequent stories unfolded within WFPS and offer an opportunity to open the discourse regarding systemic questions facing present-day United States public education - racial integration, accountability, and increasing support for charter schools. In this article, these stories are told first in the context of WFPS and then are connected to parallels found in other schools in New Orleans as well as other urban areas in the United States.
ISSN:1718-4770