Interrogating the Role of Race in Full-Service Community Schools to Advance Educational Equity

• In Event: Community Schools Research: Advancing Equity and Collaboration Through a Holistic Approach

Abstract

Although often forgotten in historical accounts, iterations of Full-Service Community Schools (FSCSs)—from settlement houses to Black Panther liberation schools—have a tradition in the African American community. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impetus, implementation, and challenges of Black FSCSs in the United States to inform equity-focused research and practice of the FSCS strategy today.
This analysis uses critical race theory (CRT) to interrogate the literature on FSCS implementation in Black communities (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Delgado & Stefancic, 2012). Using CRT as an analytical tool, this paper examines how systemic racism necessitated and influenced implementation of historical iterations of FSCSs for Black students and families. The paper also explores the establishment of these schools as acts of resistance to racial discrimination and exclusion.
This paper uses a basic literature review as its methodology. The aim of a basic literature review is to garner in-depth understanding of a topic to comprehensively answer specific questions (Snyder, 2019). The literature for this review was identified through a search of Google Scholar and JSTOR using five search terms: 1) Black community schools in the United States; 2) FSCSs in Black communities in the United States; 3) FSCSs and African Americans; 4) Black settlement movement; and 5) Black panther community schools. The literature search resulted in two books and 25 articles that comprise the data sources for this paper. These publications were read to identify key themes related to the impetus, implementation, and outcomes of FSCSs in Black communities.
Historical iterations of Black FSCSs illustrate how cultural, institutional, social, and individual interactions reproduce racial hierarchies and inequities. They also capture the importance of individual and institutional decisions and actions that challenge the status quo to promote social change. Key findings from this literature review include:
• Previous iterations of Black FSCSs emerged as a response to systemic racism that denied educational and community resources to Black children and families.
• Black FSCSs were community hubs and vital sources of social capital for students, teachers, and families. Their success was built on school and community leadership and a well-developed network of partnerships among key stakeholders that provided culturally relevant and community responsive activities and instruction.
• Despite their importance, limited resources prevented Black FSCSs from adequately meeting the needs of Black children and families, who were disproportionately poor and underserved.
• Previous iterations of FSCSs that served poor White communities lost opportunities for expansion and impact due to their inattention to the needs of Black residents whose community organizing proved critical to 20th century civil and social rights movements.
This analysis highlights the importance of interrogating the role of race in education reform. Previous iterations of FSCSs were marred by racism, resulting in segregated movements that limited social change. To ensure the success of the current iteration of FSCSs, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners must insist on explicit commitment to and accountability for racial equity and justice.

Author

• Mavis G. Sanders, Child Trends
  Presenting Author