The University of Arizona is joining a major national effort to transform how urban school districts support Black elementary students. Dr. Chris Lukinbeal, Professor of Geography and Director of the GIST Programs at The University of Arizona, is a principal investigator on a new three-year study (2026–2029) titled "From Disparities to Thriving: A Systemic Approach to Disability Identification, Discipline, and Black Student Success." Funded by the Spencer Foundation, the project moves beyond traditional bureaucratic checklists to investigate why racial gaps in special education and school discipline persist. While the study focuses on the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the University of Arizona’s role is central to understanding the "where" of student success.
Dr. Lukinbeal, a geographer and cartographer, will lead the project’s spatial analysis. His work focuses on "spatial social capital"—the networks, trust, and community resources within neighborhoods and schools that help students thrive. Qualitative work will engage students and parents to visualize their subjective perceptions of thriving, safety, belonging and opportunity. This approach connects a student’s daily spatial activities to broader neighborhood data like housing, demographics, employment, and community assets to see how these environments influence school experiences. "We are reframing racial disparities from a focus on 'deficits' to an asset-based model," the research team noted, highlighting how Lukinbeal’s maps will identify significant clusters of opportunity. By 2029, the team aims to provide schools with interactive "data stories" and maps that combine hard statistics with the lived experiences of families, creating a scalable model for student thriving nationwide
This interdisciplinary team includes:
· Alfredo J. Artiles (Stanford University), who guides the overall research on educational equity.
· Rebecca A. Cruz (Johns Hopkins University), an expert in longitudinal data and school discipline.
· Laticia Errie De Erving and Jenny Jimenez Payne (SFUSD), who lead district-wide initiatives for Black student achievement and special education.
· Allison Firestone (SFUSD) and Laura Wentworth (Stanford), who manage the partnership between researchers and local schools.
· Hari Subramonyam (Stanford University), who specializes in designing human-centered data tools.
VISIT THE OFFICIAL PROJECT SITE HERE
