Moving on Up? Black Parents and Dilemmas of Schooling in a Predominantly White Suburb

• In Event: 25.070 - No Choice Is the Right Choice: Understanding Black Parents' School "Choices" and Engagement

Abstract

Studies of Black parents and school “choice” commonly focus on the constraints and barriers faced by low-income families in large urban school districts. Yet, as more Black people now live in the suburbs than in the largest U.S. metropolitan regions (Frey, 2015), understanding the educational decision-making and experiences of Black parents as they seek good schools in suburbia is both timely and important. This paper thus examines the migration motivations and educational decision-making of a socioeconomically mixed sample of Black parents residing in a predominantly white suburb of a mid-sized Wisconsin city. Specifically, the research asks: 1) What were the “push” and “pull” factors that shaped Black parents’ decision to reside in the suburb and send their children to its schools?; 2) How have they experienced suburban schooling, and what is the role of race, class, gender, and place in their experiences? And 3) How, if at all, do their engagement strategies relate to their on-going school and residential “choices”?

The research takes an ecological approach that embeds family-school relationships within broader social contexts and treats parent engagement as a dynamic process (Calabrese Barton, Drake, Perez, St. Louis, & George, 2004). I also draw from intersectionality theory (Collins 1999) to interrogate the intersections of race, class, and gender in parents’ decision-making, actions, and experiences. An ecological framework for understanding family-school relations, informed by intersectionality theory, provides me with the conceptual tools to understand Black parents’ heterogeneous experiences in both school and community suburban contexts.

The research findings are based upon a larger ethnographic study of Black parent engagement in a predominantly white Wisconsin suburb. For this paper I draw from: 1) semi-structured interviews with 56 Black parents of children in grades K–7; 2) field notes from monthly district-wide Organization of African American Parents (OAAP) meetings; and 3) an analysis of district and OAAP documents related to district demographics, academics, and family engagement.

Parents decided to reside in the suburb based upon the resources and educational opportunities it offered their children, particularly in contrast to the nearby city and other cities they had encountered in their own schooling. They were also attracted to the suburb based upon its perceived safety, housing stock, and “quiet” community. Yet many shared experiences with racism in both school and community contexts. While social class and gender shaped parents’ specific engagement strategies and experiences, all parents worked to support their children’s education within highly racialized schooling contexts. Many parents spoke of the trade-offs they were making in choosing to stay in the suburb, and several parents considered moving back to the city. The research highlights the racialized dilemmas that many Black parents face in their educational decision-making in suburbia, and points to the importance of studying school “choice” as an ongoing, dynamic process.

Author

• Linn E. Posey-Maddox, University of Wisconsin - Madison