Then and Now: Black Teachers and Transformative Educational Practice in Full-Service Community Schools

• In Event: Community Schools: A Strategy for Supporting and Sustaining (BIPOC) Teachers

Abstract

This paper draws on research on Black teachers in two 20th century full-service community schools (FSCSs) and a recent case study of a Black female teacher in an award-winning urban FSC high school in the South Census region to describe the characteristics and practices associated with these teachers’ effectiveness and the alignment of their professional attributes with the principles of the FSCS strategy.

Conceptually, the paper draws on McKinney de Royston and Nasir’s (2017) Framework for Children’s Learning and Development (FCLD). The multilevel FCLD highlights how race is enacted through cultural, institutional, social, and individual interactions that, in turn, affect the environments in which students learn and develop. When applied to FSCSs (McKinney de Royston & Nasir, 2017; McKinney de Royston & Madkins, 2019), the FCLD underscores the necessity of key school actors’ beliefs aligning with the foundational principles of the FSCS strategy and their sociopolitical clarity about the larger forces of power that intersect to produce inequities in and outside of schools.

This paper integrates a thematic analysis of the literature on two 20th century FSCSs serving primarily Black students: the James Adams Community School operated in Coatesville, Pennsylvania between 1943 and 1956 and the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School, operating from 1973 to 1982 in East Oakland, California. This paper also draws on data collected as part of a single case study of Anisha, a Black language arts teacher at Promise High (teacher and school names are pseudonyms).

One book and 10 articles were read to identify key themes related to characteristics and roles of Black teachers in the focal 20th century FSCSs. Data sources also included survey, observation, and interview data collected as part of a case study of Anisha. The author surveyed Anisha and the school principal about her professional practice. The author also observed Anisha teach a 90-minute class. After the observation, the author conducted two follow-up interviews – one lasting 30 minutes and the other 60 minutes.

Findings highlight characteristics and practices that have allowed Black teachers to be effective educators and change agents in FSCSs. Of note, Black teachers:
1. Embodied the values and attributes described in the extant literature on Black teachers (e.g., Acosta, 2018): they were highly qualified, hardworking, and committed to racial uplift.
2. Served as role models for students, countering prevailing stereotypes about Black men and women.
3. Exhibited a “community orientation” that was visible in their engagement with families and community members and partners to support students’ success in and out of school.
4. Provided culturally relevant content to their students as a means to empower them as change agents.
5. Built trusting relationships with their students, which helped them to reach the high expectations teachers held for them.

This study provides insights into practices that can help FSCSs fully achieve their goals for Black and other underserved student populations. It also showcases the unique contributions of African American teachers in past and contemporary FSCSs.

Author

• Mavis G. Sanders, Learning Policy Institute