Interrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline in an Urban Jesuit High School

• In Event: Catholic Education Through an International Lens and From Within Urban Communities

Abstract

As urban schools are at the center of the school reform movement, a Jesuit school in an urban community entered the discourse 20 years ago. In a city where a disproportionate number of African American males don’t graduate from high school, a school with a 99% African American male student population has contributed to the academic and social development of numerous students. While this enterprise has had a positive impact it hasn't been without bumps along the way. Based on a two-year qualitative study using interviews with members of the school community as well as observations, this paper reveals how a Jesuit education has impacted these students while also struggling to embrace an era of hyperaccountability and hyperstandardization.

Author

• Robert Weldon Simmons, Loyola University Maryland