Mixed Feelings About Mixed Schools: Superintendents on the Complex Legacy of School Desegregation

Abstract

Purpose: This article considers the perspectives of superintendents who attended all-Black segregated schools and examines how their lived experiences informed their views on desegregation policy, programs, and practices. Research Design: This empirical, qualitative study used critical race theory as a methodological and analytical framework for collecting and interpreting participant narratives acquired through in-depth, semistructured interviews and autobiographical and biographical documents and artifacts. Findings: Study findings are presented as counterstories to (a) the inferior all-Black school, (b) equal education, access, and opportunity, and (c) integration, diversity, and inclusion, with implications for the perceived viability of school desegregation in the post- Brown era. Collectively, they reflect what one participant described as “mixed feelings” about school desegregation. Conclusions: The article concludes with implications for educational policy and practice to include support for racial literacy in educational leadership and policy and recommendations for promoting a proper education no matter the school context, separate or mixed.

Counteracting Educational Injustice with Applied Critical Leadership: Culturally Responsive Practices Promoting Sustainable Change

“…Leadership and management as a result are largely 'colorblind' in approach leaving critical theorists and pedagogues with the responsibility of raising classroom teachers' and practitioners' awareness of multicultural education and cultural responsiveness. The few interdisciplinary scholars who engage in educational leadership and more critical intersecting fields of study remain on the margins of educational leadership reform (Brooks, 2008;Normore, 2008;Horsford, 2010;Jean-Marie, Normore, & Brooks, 2009;Santamaría & Santamaría, 2012). …”

“…Related research suggests that leadership in the new century needs to come from the experience and knowledge base of the largest number of people in many parts of the United States and many parts of the world: Indigenous people and people of color (Bishop et al, 2009;Horsford, 2010Horsford, , 2011Santamaría, Santamaría, Webber, & Pearson, 2014). This inquiry provides an example of a critical research-to-practice perspective to benefit teachers, policymakers, scholars, and students of education and educational leadership in national and global arenas.…”

Examining the Career Pathways of Educators With Superintendent Certification

“…As for the intersection of race/ethnicity and sex, Brunner and Grogan (2007) concur with Tallerico (2000a) and suggest that, generally, there are "more hoops for women of color to jump through on their way up the administrative career ladder" (p. 112). This statement is brought to life by the researchers who have been intentional in capturing the voices and experiences of female administrators of color (e.g., Alston, 2005;Angel, Killacky, & Johnson, 2013;Brown, 2014;Horsford, 2009Horsford, , 2010Kalbus, 2000). As part of one such study, Angel et al (2013) interviewed 10 Black, female, district-level administrators in North Carolina who identified hidden criteria and the lack of a peer support network as barriers to entering the superintendency.…”

Transforming Out-of-School Challenges Into Opportunities

“…3 For current school leaders in urban contexts where out-of-school forces constrain urban schooling, these leaders should consider critical urban theory's premise that another more democratic and socially just urban community is possible (Brenner, 2009). Therefore, at the core, school leaders should gain a deeper and asset-based understanding about the communities in which their schools are situated (Horsford, 2010a;Khalifa, 2012). In doing this, school leaders could work collaboratively with a range of community-based stakeholders, including students, families, community and business leaders, clergy, and community members to broaden their collective, community understanding and raise consciousness about the political and socioeconomic forces that shape their local context.…”