Abstract
This ethnographic research was conducted over a three-year period, and documents the efforts of a committed group of parents and community members who through community-based research sought to address the disproportionate underachievement of African American students within their city’s public school system. Specifically, the parents and community members who make up the group Parents of Children of African Ancestry (POCAA) offer a refreshing theory of action that explicitly addressed issues of racial inequity, and called upon the larger community to respond with the urgency the youth deserved. In effect, POCAA challenges dominant views of African American parents and re-envisions their involvement in school reform as a site of radical resistance.
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Notes
Throughout this article, pseudonyms are used for all personal and institutional names.
Although POCAA as an organization developed in an organic manner as the parents and grandparents responded to a situation that directly affected their children and their community, it is important to note the links the organization had with the local University based research collaborative and the strength the data provided them throughout their organizing efforts.
This “insider’s perspective” was important in many ways. For example, it provided POCAA access to an institutional memory they would otherwise not have. Also, since Yolanda was a trusted member of the larger African American community and the school community, her position within the school allowed POCAA somewhat easier access to teachers, administrators, and community.
At the time of this study, the student demographics were as follows: 37 % White, 32.7 % African American, 10.8 % Latino, 8.3 % Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.6 % American Indian, and 10.6 % other/mixed race.
The group was given district approval to search and hire their own teachers. None of the three teachers held California Teaching credentials at the time of hire. One teacher was in the process of getting her credential, while another teacher as one of the core members of POCAA.
It is important to note that POCAA worked closely with members of the fore-mentioned University based research collaboration as they designed the intervention program. This means that they had professional educators and researchers help in the design and implementation of the program.
In fact, the curriculum offered mirrored that of Benton High’s ninth grade, yet the way the curriculum was presented, the pedagogy, class size and the expectation that the students could be successful was vastly different. For example, each teacher focused on “progress” made, assured that all students participated in meaningful ways, and had strong connections with students’ families.
The district only funded this particular intervention for a seven-month period with funds that were not renewable. The board believed at the time that there were several interventions already in place to support struggling students. Towards the end of the seven months, POCAA went in front of the board to extend the intervention but the board denied their request citing a lack of funds.
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Fuentes, E.H. On the Rebound: Critical Race Praxis and Grassroots Community Organizing for School Change. Urban Rev 44, 628–648 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-012-0208-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-012-0208-3