The scope of my project will be to look at and compare three time ranges; 1955 to 1975 (with a focus on the last decade of the range, as this is when segregation ended, impacting segregated schools in Omaha, such as Lake School, Kellom School, and Lothrom School), 1975-2000 (with a focus 1990 and on, as the there is a population spike nearing the start of the 2000s), and 2000-2020 (as population has continued to increase, and legislation impacting education was presented). I am currently debating whether to consider any questions surrounding Covid-19, but at this time I am leaning towards no. I aim to look at schools primarily through two lenses, that being race and disability, but depending on information available I may also consider religion. I will consider schools within the Omaha Area (not just Omaha Public Schools), which include Bellevue Public Schools, Bennington Public Schools, Elkhorn Public Schools, Omaha Public Schools, Papillon-La Vista Public Schools, Ralston Public Schools, and Westside Community Schools. There are also 15 non-denominational private schools and 18 catholic schools within this area.
Some possible sources to consider is Census Data, which would provide information on race, disability, and religion. Several maps of the racial breakdown of Omaha should also be considered. The school district breakdown map of Omaha should also be considered, as well as bus maps that can explain help demonstrate children’s access to education. The Omaha School Project also presents some interesting maps, such as the mapping of disability funding in each school district (as well as funding in general). Non map related sources that could be consulted is legislation surrounding access to education, such as legislation desegregating schools and bills introduced in the early 2000s that were subject to law suite by the NAACP for discriminatory. News papers detailing the opening and closing of schools will will also be important.
My final project will be an interactive web map, ideally with three different maps that can be overlaid or filtered out to demonstrate the changes that have occurred within and between the three different time ranges. I think this is the best way to present this project because it would allow for information to be presented on each school, and patterns to be recognized through the lens of race, religion, and disability.
This project is an important piece of scholarship because a correlation between poverty and education has been shown. Outlining access to education as demographics in Omaha have changed throughout the decades may help point out patterns in inequality. With a changing demographics (especially in an increase in population) schools have been added in Omaha, but schools have also closed and moved locations. Each of these decisions impact children’s access to education, as well as a decision made by some decision.
Nice. We hadn’t talked about busing (and that will change over time) but that would be an interesting variable to consider. Not sure where that data would be, but there might be studies (again, likely at the OPL). Because you also want to use the city directories, I would prioritize a visit there soon. Make sure to email ahead if you want to look at busing, since those are likely in closed stacks, unlike the city directories. COVID may be a bit much for this project. We’ve already met, but reach out when you have questions!