Students in the sociology class “Research to Enhance Equity in Education” studied real data from the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD). Their research question: Which families are opting not to enroll their children in the Madison school district, and why?
The class was featured in the Cap Times article “White students more likely to exit Madison schools via open enrollment.”
Half of the students studied enrollment transfers from Madison schools, and the other half examined 4K enrollment data to better understand why some families weren’t choosing the district’s free programs.
The class was co-led by Bri Monahan, a research director for the Madison school district, and Eric Grodsky, who serves as co-director of a partnership between the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Madison Metropolitan School District called the Madison Education Partnership.
Eric Grodsky shared that, “Documenting this, I think, for people in the district, is really helpful from a policy point of view.”
At the end of the semester, the students presented their research to MMSD leaders, and superintendent Joe Gothard thanked the students for their work.