scholarly journals Teachers at the Center: Place and Education Displacement in Southwest Atlanta

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Council ◽  
Shaeroya Earls ◽  
Shakale George ◽  
Rebecca Graham
Keyword(s):  
Urban Education ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Black Families ◽  
Black Teachers ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Black Schools ◽  
Urban Education Reform ◽  
Personal Experiences

In Southwest Atlanta, urban education reform and gentrification have intersected to create the perfect collision of housing and educational displacement of Black students, Black families, and Black teachers. While Black communities are dealing with the impacts of gentrification, Black schools are simultaneously witnessing shifts that uproot students and their teachers. As a teacher participatory action research (PAR) collective, we share our personal experiences of housing displacement and how it has impacted our students, our communities, and our ability to maintain our positions as community-centered teachers. In this article, we acclimate readers to Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southwest Atlanta region in which we serve. We also illustrate how we have confronted the displacement of our students and ourselves. Finally, we highlight the significance of community-centered teachers operating within a Critical Studyin’ for Human Freedom praxis in the struggle against systemic inequities that persistently plague our students and communities.

scholarly journals Segregation and inequality in Chicago Public Schools, transformed and intensified under corporate education reform

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavlyn Jankov ◽  
Carol Caref
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Black Teachers ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Corporate Education ◽  
Black Schools ◽  
School Closures

During the period of 1981 to 2015, the total population of Black students in CPS plummeted from close to 240,000, 60% of all CPS students, to 156,000 or 39% of CPS. This paper documents how despite their decreasing numbers and percentage in the system, the vast majority of Black students remained isolated in predominantly low-income Black schools that also became the target of destabilizing corporate reforms and experimentation. This study examines the historic and contemporary dual segregation of Black teachers and Black students in Chicago Public Schools, and how mass school closures, privatization, and corporate school reform have both transformed and deepened segregation and resource-inequity across Chicago's schools.

scholarly journals Building Sustainable Civic Capacity in Urban Education Reform: Actors, Perceptions, and Recommendations for Inclusive Public Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Education ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Educational Policy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Civic Capacity ◽  
Education Change ◽  
Urban Education Reform

The research and literature focusing on education change, policy development, and community engagement have indicated clearly that forming a broad coalition within urban education reform through greater civic engagement can create sustainable education change, help to develop inclusive education policy, and lead to greater accountability, transparency, equity, and efficacy in delivering 21st-century education to all students. However, the actors, barriers, and opportunities related to developing inclusive educational policy and greater civic capacity in urban education reform have been under-examined in the literature around public policy and civic engagement. Drawing from quantitative and qualitative data collected in a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods study, this article examines the perceptions and relationships of various actors in urban education reform in Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and offers a deeper understanding of the barriers to and opportunities for fostering greater civic capacity and engagement in urban education reform, and developing inclusive educational policy. The study findings suggest strongly that sustained civic capacity and engagement in urban education change efforts allow for systematic improvements in educational development and innovation. Moreover, the results indicated that structural openness to new actors, stakeholders, and the reconceptualization of education as a worthy good can lead to enhanced educational quality, equity, and inclusion, particularly in urban areas. The authors also present further discussion about and policy recommendations for increased civic engagement in urban school reform efforts.

scholarly journals Book Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-82
Author(s):  
Soraya Fallah ◽  
Cklara Moradian ◽  
Wendy Murawski
Keyword(s):  
Urban Education ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Urban Education Reform ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Cultural Responsivity ◽  
Diverse Ensemble ◽  
District Culture

Ability, equity, and culture: Sustaining inclusive urban education reform, edited by Kozleski and Thorius (2014), is a remarkable compilation of work, written by a diverse ensemble of educators, researchers, practitioners, and advocates. A thought-provoking book that looks critically at urban education reform, the authors challenge readers to have a broader understanding of what the term inclusivity entails. The editors present the work of 17 authors who were all part of the National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI). These authors shed light on various aspects of systemic urban reform in policy, pedagogy, and practice. Issues discussed ranged from the micro to the macro change initiatives to classroom environments and district culture, as well as successful models of student-centered programs around the country. Using data from 12 years of research conducted under the sponsorship of NIUSI, the contributors paint a hopeful, if daunting, a portrait of what equitable, inclusive, and culturally responsive education should and could look like. Ultimately, the contributors of this book believe that sustainable, scalable, successful systemic educational reform is attainable, provided that all stakeholders are committed to cultural responsivity and inclusivity for all students. In order to achieve this goal, the authors posit that reform needs to combat discrimination based on socially constructed notions of difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity, ability, class, and sexual orientation.

Reflections on Brown to Understand Milliken v. Bradley: What If We are Focusing on the Wrong Policy Questions?

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Richard Milner ◽  
Lori A. Delale-O'Connor ◽  
Ira E. Murray ◽  
Abiola A. Farinde
Keyword(s):  
Black Students ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Black Teachers ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Organizational Challenges ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Success Experience ◽  
Indicators Of Success ◽  
The Impact

Background/Context Prior research on Milliken v. Bradley focuses on the failure of this case to implement interdistrict busing in the highly segregated Detroit schools. Much of this work focuses explicitly on desegregation, rather than on equity and addressing individual, systemic, institutional, and organizational challenges that may prevent the advancement and actualization of desegregation to benefit Black students, teachers, and communities. Purpose/Objective In this study, we shed light on the impacts of desegregation on Black students, teachers, and communities. We argue that Brown, Milliken, and associated policies that attempt to address segregation focus mostly on student assignment policies. Our focus instead is on highlighting the underconceptualized microlevel realities of desegregation, which include the losses of cultural and community connections, strong role models, and connections to school. Population/Participants This study draws from interview data collected from three experts in the field of education whose research focuses on school desegregation. The interview participants have written scholarly articles and/or book chapters about desegregation and related influences on/for Black teachers, Black students, and Black communities spanning the PreK–12 and higher education spectrum. Research Design This study employs in-depth qualitative interviewing. Data Collection and Analysis Interviews were conducted by phone and lasted approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Participants in the study were asked questions about the impact of desegregation and education on Black teachers’ experience, self-concept, dedication, and retention; Black students’ experience of schools and school-related success; experience and connection of Black communities; and “next steps” in educating Black students. An interpretive perspective was used to guide the interview analyses in this study. Findings/Results Analysis of the expert interviews reveals the underexplored microlevel losses and harmful effects of desegregation policies and politics on Black children, families, and communities. Conclusions/Recommendations Evidence from these researchers who have studied desegregation suggests that for many Black students and educators, desegregation was unsuccessful— even when there were superficial indicators of success. We suggest that both researchers and policy makers should consider drawing from the potential losses associated with desegregation and focusing on equity, regardless of schooling location and population.

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