Elusive Justice

Modes of Belonging: Debating School Demographics in Gentrifying New York

“…The principal both celebrated and elided markers of difference; by conflating “Black/Latino” families in comparison with “Caucasian” families, she highlighted distinctions between white families and families of color. Indeed, many stakeholders discussed diversity in terms of “middle-class-slash-white” families, as Michael Silver, a white CEC member put it, arguing that while “we’re hopefully mixing up socioeconomic levels,” the “real goal is we want a racially diverse student body around the city.” Like Michael, many diversity advocates passionately described the value they placed on both racial and socioeconomic diversity, expressing an almost taken-for-granted belief that “a just community is one that is integrated across dimensions of social difference; heterogeneity is the explicit value” (Abu El-Haj, 2006, p. 63). By conflating diversity and integration, these stakeholders viewed changes to school demographics as an expression of social progress.…”

“…In public meetings and private conversations, educators, policymakers, and families repeatedly alluded to the importance of feeling that they belonged in their school and their school belonged to them. As they talked about integration, segregation, and gentrification, stakeholders’ comments reflected varying and often conflicted narratives about whether, why, and how student demographics matter (Abu El-Haj, 2006; Dumas, 2009; Pollock, 2005). These racialized narratives influence public perceptions of diversifying schools, perceptions that have profound implications for how district administrators develop and implement policies related to school choice and student assignment, how parents join and participate in diversifying school communities, and how school leaders negotiate families’ competing priorities (Cucchiara, 2013; Diem, Holme, Edwards, Haynes, & Epstein, 2018; Posey-Maddox, 2014; Quarles & Butler, 2018; Siegel-Hawley et al, 2016; Syeed, 2019; Turner, 2015).…”

“This Is Not Representation!”

“…How do these assumptions reflect particular framings of difference and point to differing kinds of relationships across racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups? How do these assumptions reflect particular constructions of “justice” (see note below on Abu El-Haj, 2006)?…”

“…Drawing from news accounts and/or actual incidents observed in the schools, student teams should develop case studies that center on the promise and perils of increasing proximity of differences and raise critical questions for consideration in the development of socially just leadership practices. Instructors may want to center on Thea Renda Abu El-Haj’s (2006) notion of difference , which she conceives as socially constructed relationships reflecting “dimensions along which power is organized in our schools and society” (p. 18). Cases may be submitted to the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership for review and possible publication.…”

Mobilizing Culture, Language, and Educational Practices

“…I would, therefore, add an important corollary to the implications of Mendez and Brown , what Abu El-Haj (2006) refers to as “meaningful or substantive inclusion”: For so-called minority children, especially in the contemporary social context, educational resources and opportunities must include integrating their language and cultural experiences into the social and intellectual fabric of schools, much as these have always been seamlessly integrated into the education of privileged White children. In education, power is transmitted through these social relations, representations, and practices, which determine whose language and cultural experiences count and whose do not, which students are at the center and, therefore, which must remain in the periphery.…”