A Step Closer to Racial Equity: Towards a Culturally Sustaining Model for Community Schools

Abstract

In this article, we explore community schools, as first theorized through community organizing, in relation to movements for racial justice in education to address the following question: How has educational equity been radically imagined by the community school movement in New York City to reframe how we understand success, meaningful school experiences, and the possibility for hope, healing, and racial equity in education? Using ethnographic methods, we answer this question by examining what went into the grassroots commitments of organizers and the grasstops implementation of the community schools’ strategy at the district level. This examination sets a context for exploring what we saw happening at the school level, where we observed community meetings with organizers and district officials and interviewed key stakeholders about their deep histories of advocating for equitable reform. Drawing on an abolitionist paradigm, we describe how organizers such as those in NYC, who were interested in transforming systems as a prerequisite to advancing freedom, were the first major advocates of the original community schools project. Valuing the knowledge and strength of communities that have survived and thrived in the face of centuries of oppression, we conclude that community stakeholders in collaboration with education workers, from organizers to students, envisioned a blurring of communities and schools as part of a strategy to build collective power that both exposes and challenges injustice.

Betwixt and Between Justice and Inaction: Full-Service Community School Principals and Community Equity Literacy

“…While it is true that structural constraints on principals’ time involving instruction, personnel, budgeting, and student services (Grissom et al, 2015) can present barriers to engaging with families and communities, both the community school strategy and ESSA provide tools for school leaders seeking to advance social justice aims. The community school strategy offers a flexible framework that can guide the development of community collaborations that address injustices (Daniel et al, 2020; Frankl, 2016; Quinn & Blank, 2020). ESSA requires schools identified for comprehensive and targeted support to develop improvement plans and interventions in partnership with family members (Henderson, 2016).…”

“…The current FSCS movement began in the 1980's and developed through the efforts of organizations like the University of Pennsylvania, Children's Aid Society, United Way and Coalition for Community Schools. Since their inception, FSCS have implicitly focused on equity, but community school proponents have increasingly joined forces with civil rights groups in coalitions such as the Alliance to Reclaim our Schools and the Center for Popular Democracy to explicitly promote FSCS as a strategy for challenging injustices and building collective power (Daniel et al, 2020; Frankl, 2016; Quinn & Blank, 2020). These efforts suggest that some of the nation's 8,000 to 10,000 FSCS (Quinn & Blank, 2020) are beginning to address early appeals to move beyond individualized service provision (Keith, 1999).…”

Taking a LEAP toward community-engaged leadership

“…The Truth High School in the South Bronx is an example of a culturally sustaining community school where there is a recognition of collective destiny and reciprocity (Daniel, Malone, & Kirkland, 2023). Youth advocate for their own learning and enrichment through local activism and internships.…”

“…Many educators are familiar with the community school model, which centers the school space as a hub for community-based activities (Daniel, Malone, & Kirkland, 2023). However, schools do not need a community school designation to be a spatial asset to the community.…”

Learning to expand our communities to support coaching for equity: a collaboration of seven university-based teacher preparation programs

“…More recently, scholars have drawn on improvement science in the field of education (LeMahieu et al, 2015), where researchers form NICs with district leaders, teachers and other stakeholders to facilitate change within school systems (Biag and Sherer, 2021;Daniel et al, 2020). Turns toward improvement science allow researchers to privilege variation and context as important sources of learning (Lewis, 2015).…”