Implementing Black Student Excellence in K-12 Schools: Structures, Attitudes, and Actions from Three Urban Schools

• In Event: Student Excellence in Uncertain Times: Building Ethical Administrative Capacity amid Crisis in K–12 Schools

Abstract

This paper describes the structures, attitudes, and actions that emerge as three schools work to implement the Black Student Excellence Initiative (BSEI) adopted by their urban school district. BSEI seeks to transform the experiences, engagement, and outcomes of Black youth in schools by building an environment of belonging where Black students thrive. Drawing on homeplace (hooks, 2015; Mayes, Kearl, & Ieva, 2024) as an analytic lens, this paper reports on two-years of data that explores the efforts of school-level staff hired at three schools (one elementary, one middle school, and one high school) to implement BSEI. The challenges, successes, and opportunities that surface from this research invite imagining organizations and practices that generate a new vision of education.

Authors

• Diana A. Porras, California State University - Long Beach

• Jolan Smith, California State University - Long Beach

• Cara Richards-Tutor, California State University - Long Beach