"They Go Above and Beyond": Critical Race Counterstories About an "Underperforming" High School

• In Event: Voices of Charter School Families and Students

Abstract

What does it mean for a school to be failing? Who determines success or failure? Too often, answers to these questions do not include insights from students of color or their families. This community-based qualitative case study yielded powerful critical race theory (CRT) counter-stories from students, teachers, and family members. Their counter-narratives challenge dominant racial ideologies embedded in the racist grammar (Bonilla-Silva, 2012) conveyed via school accountability language (e.g., underperforming, failing) about one charter school. These community counter-stories offer a strikingly different view of the school than the underperforming “ratings” publicized by the state.

Authors

• Kristina M Perrelli, University of Rhode Island

• Annemarie Vaccaro, University of Rhode Island