Friday, June 6, 2008 - Page updated at 11:05 AM
A Seattle Times Special Report
The resegregation of Seattle's schools
STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
TOM REESE / THE SEATTLE TIMES
After decades of integration efforts that culminated in a U.S. Supreme Court decision, the racial imbalance of the 1970s is back.
Leschi Elementary, left, and Loyal Heights, right, are two examples of the racial divides in Seattle schools. Those divides are largely the byproduct of housing patterns. Leschi Elementary is 94 percent nonwhite. Loyal Heights, at the other end of the spectrum, is 85 percent white.
In 1977-78, the district identified 26 schools that were considered racially out of balance. Busing changed that. Today most of those schools have resegregated, and more schools have joined the list.
Special report
Today, a total of 30 schools have minority populations that far exceed the district's average of 58 percent. In 20 of them, minority enrollment is 90 percent or more.
One mom's quest to reverse resegregation
Lisa Olszewski has appointed herself "chief cheerleader" for John Muir Elementary.
Integration is no longer top priority
Resegregation, district leaders say, is a societal problem too big for the district alone to solve.
