Building a Culture of Excellence That Serves Black Students

• In Event: Examining the Bright Spots: Successful Strategies for Promoting Black Student Success in K–12 Schools

Abstract

Purpose. Limited research has explored the non-school factors that contribute to positive academic and life outcomes of Black youth in Los Angeles County, which is home to the second-largest number of Black students in the nation (Noguera et. al, 2019).

Methods. In this study, we utilize Grounded Theory and qualitative case study methods centering the perspectives of Black students. Interviews of 35 Black students alongside 15 teachers and school personnel are conducted to identify and to describe successful strategies to encourage Black student achievement at a Los Angeles High School. We provide considerable attention and focus to examine how students themselves describe their experiences in schools what they believe contributes to their own academic achievement.

Theoretical Framework. This study draws on the work of Muhammad’s (2018) culturally responsive leadership model. A culturally responsive leadership model focuses on how school leaders can effectively
serve minoritized students—those who have been historically marginalized in school and
society. The framework demonstrates how leaders can engage students, parents, teachers, and
communities in ways that positively impact learning by honoring indigenous heritages and
local cultural practices.

Findings. Our data suggest that the ‘culture of excellence’ at the case study site is constituted around three main components: 1) classroom and performance expectations 2) academic support and resourcing, and 3) dynamics of emotional care and reassurance. Most pronounced in both student and teacher interview data is the notion that students attending the school are expected to perform well academically, well enough that students meet at minimum, state college university eligibility and are able to contribute to the school’s three-decade long history of college-going for the majority of its’ students. Additionally, when attempting to ensure that these expectations (despite the many barriers that impact the college matriculation of Black and Latinx students) students, staff, and teachers, spoke to varying ways that students are supported academically to promote their individual academic excellence. Strategies used included specified academic counseling, supplemental academic supports, and tailored college admission advising

Significance
As educators, policymakers, and school officials continue to grapple with ways to properly and adequately address the disparities across student outcomes, it is imperative to leverage practices and approaches that have successful in promoting the educational outcomes of students of color. Specifically, this study and its’ findings suggest the importance of emotional aspects of care giving in motivating and supporting the collective construction of a culture of excellence that at both, resists dominant and deficit notions about the academic capabilities of Black students, and examines the practices, attitudes, and school climate that constitutes creating a supportive learning environment that produces exceptional outcomes.

References
Khalifa, M. (2018). Culturally responsive school leadership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Education Press


Noguera, P., Bishop, J. Howard, T & Johnson, S. (2019). Beyond the schoolhouse: Overcoming challenges & expanding opportunities for Black Youth in Los Angeles County. Center for the
Transformation of Schools, Black Male Institute, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles.

Author

• TrVel Lyons, University of California - Los Angeles