Power, Influence, Discourse, and the Nation's Capital: District of Columbia Public Schools' Extended Academic Year Policy

• In Event: 69.056 - Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: 69.056-4 - Policy and Politics in U.S. School Reform

Abstract

We interrogate the role of power, influence, and the linguistic structuring of the District of Columbia Public Schools’ adoption of an extended academic-year policy for a portion of the city’s poorest majority-minority neighborhoods. We reveal two significant findings that critique the District’s commitment to improving schools: 1) DCPS advanced their policy through back-door bargaining and 2) DCPS used the policy to solidify their organizational legitimacy. By exploring and assessing the policy enactment process, our research adds to the scholarship on urban policy implementation and the intersectionality of race and class in American schools.

Authors

• Bradley Quarles, University of Maryland - College Park

• Caroline Titan, University of Maryland - College Park

• Jason Mayernick, University of Maryland - College Park