Desegregated schools are linked to educational and social advantages whereas myriad harms are connected to segregated schools, yet the emphasis on school desegregation has recently receded in two North Carolina city-suburban school districts historically touted for their far-reaching efforts: Charlotte and Raleigh. In this article, we use cross-case analysis to explore segregation outcomes associated with policy changes by analyzing enrollment and segregation trends from 1989 to 2010 in metro Charlotte and metro Raleigh. Both Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County school systems are experiencing a growing share of intensely segregated schools, decreasing exposure of Black and Latino students to White students, disproportionately large exposure of Black and Latino students to poor students, and an increase in segregated charters. Segregation in the districts surrounding Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County is less extreme. An understanding of how policies have contributed to segregation patterns in both metros informs future education reform efforts.
Background/Context An ongoing challenge for scholars who examine the educational experiences of young men of color, particularly Black and Latino males, is to illustrate the complex nature of their experiences and to call into question the dichotomous narrative that these students are either successful or unsuccessful. There is a responsibility for scholars to present a balanced, more nuanced analysis and to highlight that, while a significant number of these young men are underperforming compared to their peers from other backgrounds, there are many students who are doing quite well in school. While interrogating the notion of success can be a complex task, one of the concerns in the professional literature has been that the definition is frequently limited to narrow or conventional standards (i.e., high GPA, high test scores, etc.). While these examples of success are indeed important, we maintain that they do not capture the full spectrum of favorable educational and social outcomes of Black and Latino male students both inside and outside of schools. Purpose/Objective This study operates from the standpoint that many Black and Latino males are thriving, yet their stories are rarely told, especially by the young men themselves. The objective of the study is to challenge conventional depictions of Black and Latino males by better understanding how these young men perceive themselves, as well as how they conceptualize success. Thus, the questions that anchored this study include: How do Black and Latino males describe themselves? In what ways do they operationalize the term “success”? And what can researchers, practitioners, and policymakers learn from student perceptions of success? Research Design The study included in-depth qualitative interviews that were conducted in person. The interviews were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed. Transcripts were uploaded to a qualitative data analysis program. Prevalent themes, topics, key terms, and phrases were all identified and ultimately represented recurring patterns and codes within the data. Findings/Results Students defined success in similar ways to how they described themselves. “Hardworking,” “determined,” and “able to work with others” were a few descriptors offered by the participants. Moreover, the young men expressed an inherent belief that success was not relegated to school alone and that it was equally important to make their mark in their respective homes and communities. Establishing financial security, emphasizing self-improvement, helping their families and communities, and just wanting to be happy were other ways in which the participants defined success. Conclusion Allowing students to develop their own definitions of success can serve as an impetus toward a shift away from thinking that success is in how others define the term. Success for these young men was the ability to write their own narrative.
This article examines interview responses from prominent education researchers who were asked to consider the role of major educational policies in the underrepresentation of Black teachers in public schools. Participants considered policies related to accountability and market reforms including testing, school choice and charter schools, and alternative teacher education. Although participants agreed that Black teachers contribute greatly to academic achievement for students, their views differed about whether or how policies undermine the presence of Black teachers in schools. We offer conceptual distinctions between participants’ views, including those who described policy as having a mixed impact on Black teachers, those who described policy as having an unintended but harmful impact, and those who described policy as playing a tacit role in systemic marginalization of Black teachers and as a form of institutional racism. We find benefit in all participants’ views and offer suggestions for initiatives that seek to strengthen workforce diversity.
The Civil Rights Project was hired to identify barriers to equitable access in Buffalo (N.Y.) Public Schools’ criteria schools and propose solutions, which, if accepted by both parties, could resolve the civil rights violations and create more equitable access to those schools. The researchers found that students of color, low-income students, and English language learners faced barriers in four areas: information, preparation, admission criteria, and availability of choices. Researchers crafted recommendations about how to make Buffalo’s choice system fair. The school system accepted many proposed changes in its outreach and recruitment process but refused to end its reliance on test scores or expand the supply of high-achieving schools.
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