About

Jenn Ayscue is an associate professor in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and in Educational Leadership within the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on school integration in K-12 schools and federal education policy. Specifically, her work examines trends, policies, and practices that facilitate or constrain desegregation and integration efforts, as well as ways of remedying civil rights violations in education. Additionally, she studies federal policy issues related to equity, including the implications of the Every Student Succeeds Act, and the use of research in federal policymaking. Prior to her faculty appointment at NC State, Dr. Ayscue served as an American Educational Research Association Congressional Fellow in the United States Senate and as Research Director of The Initiative for School Integration at The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, an MA from Stanford University, and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her teaching includes courses on education and social diversity, civil rights, data decision making for school administrators, organizational leadership, and qualitative research in education. Her contributions have been recognized through awards such as the University Faculty Scholar and the NC State Outstanding Teacher Award.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Gender studies
• Public administration
• Computer Science
• Pedagogy
• Economic growth
• Law
• Medicine
• Demographic economics
• Mathematics education
• Psychology
• Economics
• Public relations
• Engineering
• Geography
• Demography

Selected publications

• “A bigger factor than realized”: Parent perceptions of magnets concerning residency, proximity, and transportation

  Education Policy Analysis Archives · 2026-02-10

  articleOpen access

  Public magnet programs offer pathways for parents to exercise school choice, students to increase achievement, and districts to increase student diversity and equity. This qualitative study investigates the parent perceptions that shape decisions for magnet application in a metropolitan district with a thriving lottery-based magnet program. Drawing on 23 interviews with parents, we identify several findings about parents’ perceptions of magnet programs. First, parents lacked knowledge about the lottery and assignment process; moreover, parents felt that they lacked choice and that the location of magnets precluded their consideration; and finally, sacrifice was perceived to be required due to the limits of transportation. Those from the district had deeper historical knowledge about how the magnet application worked and the role residency played in the process; whereas those who were newer to the area expressed confusion. We find that concerns about school proximity and available transportation were near ubiquitous factors and the location of magnets precludes their consideration as viable options for those not proximate to them. Our findings suggest that magnet programs benefit from targeted transportation measures, intentional school siting policies, and strategic information campaigns that communicate magnet intentions and processes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Getting It “Right”: Educators’ Experiences With School Diversity in a Gentrifying Neighborhood

  AERA Open · 2025-04-12 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Schools in gentrifying neighborhoods often experience demographic changes in enrollment. The purpose of this qualitative holistic case study is to describe how leaders and teachers in a diversifying elementary school in a gentrifying neighborhood perceive and experience diversity. Drawing on Turner’s value of diversity framework, we use inductive coding to analyze interviews and also use documents to inform our findings. Although Greenleaf was striving to be intentionally diverse, consensus did not exist about the meaning of “diversity” or the desired form of diversity. Challenges associated with decentering Whiteness and resisting upholding the racial contract existed as educators worked to establish a shared mission, ensure diverse staff voice and representation with a White leader, and navigate complications of power and privilege among White families. Educators highlighted the value of diversity for developing students’ multicultural capital and global cosmopolitanism as well as the collective benefit of reducing divisiveness for our nation.

  PublisherDOI

• Dismantling Triple Segregation Through Two-Way Immersion

  2024-08-09

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter explores the segregation of Hispanic students, particularly those who are multilingual learners (MLs), and the potential of two-way dual language immersion (TWI) programs to facilitate greater integration. Our analysis finds that in 2018–2019, North Carolina’s TWI programs successfully enrolled a multiracial student body. TWI programs were less likely than other schools to be intensely segregated and no TWIs were hypersegregated. Thus, TWI programs offer one important avenue for integrating schools in a manner that fulfills a new conceptualization of integration in which students from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds learn together in classrooms.

  PublisherDOI

• Issue Information

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2024-06-01

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• “Fighting an Uphill Battle”: The Pursuit of Equity Through the Every Student Succeeds Act in North Carolina

  Educational Administration Quarterly · 2024-09-10 · 6 citations

  article

  Purpose: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reduced the role of the federal government in K-12 education, giving states more flexibility while maintaining protections for marginalized groups. Despite the potential to leverage flexibility, little is known about how states are addressing equity. Research Methods: Using a critical policy analysis (CPA) approach, this qualitative case study uses semi-structured interviews and document analysis to examine the design and implementation of equity efforts by the state education agency (SEA) in North Carolina. Findings: SEA officials describe writing the state ESSA plan as an exercise in compliance and believe the plan could have gone further in pushing equitable solutions. Competing priorities within the SEA, including the struggle to fulfill its dual roles as service provider and regulatory agency, complicated ESSA implementation, as did state-level political maneuvers. A significant, unexpected finding is that participants were much more comfortable discussing the needs of economically disadvantaged students than students of color, and often avoided mentioning race specifically. Additionally, although the pandemic caused major disruptions to schooling, SEA officials identified “keeps” that were begun as a pandemic response and may continue as the SEA pushes equitable solutions for traditionally underserved students. Implications for Research and Practice: This study suggests that competing initiatives, staff turnover, and political ideology may limit the SEA's capacity to address power and resource imbalances and hinder efforts to promote greater equity in the educational system. Moreover, the SEA's focus shifted to ESSER funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  PublisherDOI

• Issue Information ‐ Ed Board

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2023-10-16

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Issue Information ‐ Ed Board

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2023-08-04

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Issue Information ‐ Ed Board

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2023-10-11

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Resegregation will not happen on our watch: The political and social context surrounding voluntary integration in Wake County Public School System

  Education Policy Analysis Archives · 2023-02-21 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  As resegregation occurs across the country, some school districts are pursuing voluntary integration. This qualitative case study uses critical policy analysis to explore the political and social contexts surrounding the early stages of developing a voluntary integration plan in Wake County Public School System, North Carolina. Through analysis of interviews with school board and community members as well as a range of documents, findings indicate that population growth and residential development, the proliferation of unregulated school choice, varied perspectives of community stakeholders, inequitable distribution of power and resources, and school board politics largely shape the process of developing a voluntary integration plan. Recommendations are provided for school district policies, cross-sector collaboration, and state-level policies that could strengthen the potential success of voluntary integration plans.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• How Teachers and Leaders Facilitate Integration in a Two-Way Dual Language Immersion Program

  Teachers College Record The Voice of Scholarship in Education · 2022-01-01 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Background/Context: Public school enrollment in the United States is becoming increasingly racially and linguistically diverse; however, school segregation continues to intensify across the nation. Within this context, two-way dual language immersion (TWI) programs, which intentionally strive to balance English learners and English speakers, may create a natural opportunity for integration. Research Question: How do teachers and leaders facilitate integrative interactions among students of different racial and linguistic groups in a TWI program? Research Design: This qualitative, holistic, single case study explores the TWI program at Silverthorne Elementary School (pseudonym), a K-5 traditional public school in the southeastern United States. Silverthorne is in a rural community on the outskirts of a large metropolitan area that is a new immigrant destination. At the time of data collection, Silverthorne’s TWI program was in its seventh year of implementation. Participants include 12 teachers, one guidance counselor, and one school leader. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with all participants, observed eight classrooms, and analyzed supplemental documents. We used inductive coding and ultimately generated four themes to describe how TWI teachers and leaders facilitate integration. Findings: Silverthorne’s TWI program provides an opportunity to facilitate integration among students from different racial and linguistic backgrounds. The nature of these integrative experiences is shaped by the structure of the TWI program, the teachers’ conceptualizations of diversity, the teachers’ pedagogical and curricular decisions, and the school leader’s support of the TWI program. Conclusion: Although teachers and leaders in the Silverthorne TWI program have promoted integration in numerous ways, they also have missed important opportunities to facilitate greater integration. Nonetheless, this TWI program illustrates the potential of TWI to provide opportunities for students from different racial and linguistic backgrounds to learn together in a truly integrated environment. Findings suggest the need for enhanced professional development regarding how to facilitate integration in diverse classrooms as well as future research to understand how, if at all, integration is considered when districts and schools are designing and implementing TWI programs.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Genevieve Siegel‐Hawley

  Virginia Commonwealth University

  12 shared

• Gary Orfield

  11 shared

• Brian Woodward

  7 shared

• Kfir Mordechay

  7 shared

• Erica Frankenberg

  Pennsylvania State University

  6 shared

• Elizabeth M. Uzzell

  University of Virginia

  6 shared

• John Kucsera

  Arroyo Grande Community Hospital

  3 shared

• Lance D. Fusarelli

  North Carolina State University

  3 shared

Education

• PhD

  University of California, Los Angeles

  2016

• MA

  Stanford University

  2006

• BA

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  2005

Awards & honors

• University Faculty Scholar, 2024
• NC State Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award, 2022
• NC State Outstanding Teacher Award, 2022
• NC State Impact Scholar, 2022
• Assistant Professor Jenn Ayscue Receives 2021-22 Outstanding…