Does student integration in schools matter in order to ensure educational equity?

I believe that integration is necessary for educational equity. A good education does not merely encompass academics, it also includes the social skills integration brings. One of the most important things integration does at an early age is expose different cultures that are not seen without integration. After all, there is a huge difference between reading about something and actually experiencing it. This early exposure does the thing good education is supposed to do: prepare for the real world outside of school. Especially in society today, it is all about being able to adapt to different situations. With the diversity that integration brings, students have the chance to practice adapting to those varying situations. Some may argue that even with integration, some students would still not receive a good education. Sure, other factors such as good teachers and adequate funding are vital to achieving educational equity but they really only address the academic part of education. They do not provide the tools needed for the social growth that is happening as the students are growing. Even if students separate into their own cliques, it is not as if they never interact with the others students they meet through integration; they are not shielded, or rather, isolated from those different from them. Thus, just like all the other components that have been agreed on as essential for a good education, integration is just one piece of the big picture.