Casey Stockstill
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False Starts: The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers

An inside look at the racial and class divides between Head Start and private pre-K classrooms for children and their families

I spent two years observing children and teachers at two preschools in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison, like many other medium cities in the United States, is segregated, with affluent and middle-class white people and working class or low-income people of color occupying different sectors of the city. I observed one preschool that was 95% white and another that was 95% children of color. This segregation had an impact on children’s experiences in multiple ways, but especially in the ways they spent their time, the supervision and instruction they received, and the ways they learned and socialized with other children. I argue that, even in high-quality preschools that on paper have similar resources, de facto segregation creates different school experiences for children that ultimately reinforce racial and class inequality.

False Starts tells the stories of how children experience their segregated classrooms. I invite you to continue the conversation about what young children deserve and order the book here. 
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Academic Recognition of False Starts

Winner
, Bourdieu Best Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Sociology of Education

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Honorable Mention, Outstanding Scholarly Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Children and Youth.
Written Media Coverage of False Starts
What Do Kids Lose When Preschools Are Segregated? in NY Magazine/The Cut, December 2023

Examining the Segregated Lives of Preschoolers in Dartmouth Arts & Sciences blog, December 2023

Book review in Early Learning Nation, November 2023
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Coverage in Chalkbeat, November 2023
Podcast Coverage of False Starts
Interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, December 2023
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Interview on the Integrated Schools Podcast, April 2023

Interview on the Poverty Research & Policy podcast, July 2022
Last updated April 2025
  • Home
  • False Starts book
  • Research
    • Pricing the Brown Child
    • Racial Perception & Stigma
    • The Condensed Courtship Clock
  • CV