Long Island's schools are heading in the wrong direction. Rather than taking advantage of all of the benefits of learning in racially diverse schools, our school districts are becoming more segregated. This is in complete contrast to the direction that we need to be heading in as a multi-cultural region and nation.  If this trend continues Long Island students will continue to lose out on the following benefits:

• Students who attend a racially integrated school overwhelmingly report positive experiences, which include creating valuable cross-race and cross-cultural relationships and becoming more comfortable interacting with diverse people (Wells, et al., 2005).
• Social interaction with peers from other backgrounds helps to debunk racial prejudices and to make students feel more comfortable in interracial environments (Holme, et al., 2005) (Tropp, 2011).
• Attending diverse schools has a positive impact on the academic achievement of African-American students (Melendez and Yaki, 2006).
• Twenty years of research shows that when compared with their otherwise comparable peers who attend schools with high concentrations of low-income and /or disadvantaged minority youth, students who attend diverse schools are more likely to achieve higher test scores and grades, graduate from high school, and to attend and graduate from college. (Mickelson, 2011).
• Long term societal benefits of racially integrated schools include greater social cohesion and tolerance, more cross-racial relationships, and more integrated neighborhoods (Eaton and Chirichigno, 2011).
• Numerous studies have indicated that school integration has little or no measureable negative impact on the test scores of white students. (Spencer and Reno, 2009; Hanushek et al. 2006; Mickelson, 2011)
• Racially diverse classroom environments encourages critical thinking in all students. (Amicus Brief of 553 Social Scientists, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School Dist., 2007; Antonio et al., 2004)
• According to a survey of parents and students in one large metropolitan district that uses controlled choice, 64% of white students and 68% of African-American students felt "very comfortable discussing controversial issues related to race," and an even higher proportion felt "very comfortable working with students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds on group projects." The survey also found that 90% of parents believe that diverse schools have important educational benefits, and 89% of parents think that the school district's guidelines should "ensure that students learn with students from different races and economic backgrounds." (Orfield and Frankenberg, 2011)