Declining education performance in public schools has been a reoccurring theme on national and state policy agendas since the 1960’s (Bishop, 1989). Research has determined that performance declines are most common among students who attend public schools in cities as opposed to students who attend suburban schools (Cotton, 1991; Ladd, 2012) Appeals to rectify the urban/suburban achievement gap have resulted in several federal and state policy reforms that target Black and urban schools (Henig et al., 1999). As a result, similar – and sometimes the same – schools are targeted by education policy (Gordon, 2023). The consequences of revolving education reform may cause more harm than good by disrupting the foundational networks that uphold urban school communities.
Research by Jean Anyon (1997) and Marion Orr (1999) finds that schools are sources of economic stability in deindustrialized urban/Black communities. The literature on Black political participation finds that low-income Black communities have higher rates of political apathy and lower numbers of political participation, except in the governance of their schools (Fung, 2009). Other research suggests that urban schools are also sites for social welfare services (Gordon, 2023). Based on the empirical research, I argue that urban school stakeholders depend on schools for non-educational needs like employment, social welfare, and political participation. When policy mandates the elimination of school staff, programs, services, or democratic processes without a reinvestment back into the community, the consequences can disrupt the school ecosystem.

Authors:
Antonia Gordon, Michigan State University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Antonia “Toni” Gordon is fourth-year doctoral student in Political Science Department at Michigan State University. She is also predoctoral fellow with the Center for Urban Research and Education at Rutgers University - Camden Campus.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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