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Success Academy is not an isolated case.
No Excuses charter schools are often founded by white people with driven passion to “change the odds” for low-income Black and Latinx children.
It’s a noble moral goal, but many of the means used to achieve that end are not.
1/ https://twitter.com/elizashapiro/status/1275502138433699841
No Excuses charter schools are often founded by white people with driven passion to “change the odds” for low-income Black and Latinx children.
It’s a noble moral goal, but many of the means used to achieve that end are not.
1/ https://twitter.com/elizashapiro/status/1275502138433699841
Many No Excuses schools are built on the theory of change that low-income children of color need strict discipline in order to succeed academically.
In practice, this can lead to school leaders treating children like they are adults in the military.
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In practice, this can lead to school leaders treating children like they are adults in the military.
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These practices have been well-documented in recent years, and some schools have shifted to “restorative justice” principles.
But the assumption that children of color must be managed through harsh discipline runs deep.
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But the assumption that children of color must be managed through harsh discipline runs deep.
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I’ll never forget the first time I visited a KIPP school.
The principal giving me a tour saw a 2nd grader she’d punished earlier that day for a minor offense.
She began loudly berating her on the playground full of children, yelling she was a “straight up kindergartener.”
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The principal giving me a tour saw a 2nd grader she’d punished earlier that day for a minor offense.
She began loudly berating her on the playground full of children, yelling she was a “straight up kindergartener.”
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The principal was revered in ed reform circles for her devotion to social justice.
After seeing other abusive incidents, I wrote in my fieldnotes that these schools felt like “racist bootcamps.”
And very bootcamps were touted as the best way to disrupt structural racism.
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After seeing other abusive incidents, I wrote in my fieldnotes that these schools felt like “racist bootcamps.”
And very bootcamps were touted as the best way to disrupt structural racism.
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Using emotional and verbal abuse as central disciplinary tactics in schools enrolling 90%+
BIPOC children is inherently racist, no matter the intentions.
I’m heartened that Success Academy school staff are speaking out, and hope there will be a broader reckoning.
/end
BIPOC children is inherently racist, no matter the intentions.
I’m heartened that Success Academy school staff are speaking out, and hope there will be a broader reckoning.
/end
