Determining Who Is Worthy: Stakeholder Perspectives on a District's De-Leveling Initiatives

• In Event: Innovative Approaches to Addressing Equity

Abstract

We examine one district that has implemented a series of policies aimed to increase access to advanced coursework. We focus on how principals, guidance counselors, and students interpret and act on these policies from a social reproduction lens. Findings reveal a continuum of educators’ perspectives, with one end expecting students to reach for more advanced coursework and the other, calling on school personnel to push students forward. A color-neutral educator approach was in contrast to consequential differences in student survey responses, in terms of both the choices students reported having access to and the “pushes” they reported receiving. We conclude with implications for multiple, overlapping policy changes needed to address complex inequities that underlie students’ educational experiences.

Authors

• Rachel Roegman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Rebecca Hinze-Pifer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Dante Studamire, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Nathan Tanner, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Faith Thompson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign