Reconstructing the autobiography of education: addressing the needs of African American and economically disadvantaged students in North Carolina beating the odds and high priority high schools
Universal public education is recognized as the key to equalization of opportunity. Wherein Brown vs. Board of Education provided greater access to equal classrooms, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) aspired to ensure that all students are actually learning within those classrooms. NCLB's purpose was to ensure that all children in America, including identified--and often marginalized--subgroups are able to meet the learning standards of the federal government and the state where they live. Yet, seven years after the passage of NCLB, many of these subgroups, namely African Americans and economically disadvantaged students, have not fared favorably after reviewing educational data, including everything from achievement scores, national testing results, and suspension data to the ultimate predictor of success, graduation rates. The purpose of this research is to examine how teachers and principals prioritize the needs of African American and economically disadvantaged students when focusing on key categories identified in successful schools. The study will utilize a combined framework incorporating Critical Race Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis to determine the degree to which identified schools with significant African American and economically disadvantaged populations verbalize their prioritized need to focus on the marginalized groups
