Open AccessSupporting Continued Academic Success, Resilience, and Agency of Boys in Urban Catholic Alternative Middle Schools
Author(s) -
L. Mickey Fenzel,
Kathy Richardson
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
catholic education/catholic education (dayton, ohio. online)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2164-0246
pISSN - 1097-9638
DOI - 10.15365/joce.2201012019
Subject(s) - graduation (instrument) , psychological resilience , context (archaeology) , agency (philosophy) , alternative education , academic achievement , pedagogy , sociology , higher education , political science , psychology , economic growth , social science , social psychology , education , geography , education policy , geometry , mathematics , archaeology , law , economics
The persistent inequalities in urban public education in the U. S. thathave left far too many Black and Hispanic male students behind with respectto academic skill development, high school graduation, and college successhave led Catholic groups to provide alternative secondary school models toadvance the academic and career success of urban students. One of theseinitiatives is the NativityMiguel model school, the first of which opened inNew York City in 1971. The present study examines the lived experience, withrespect to benefits of this education on the subsequent academic and careersuccesses, of male graduates of two of these schools, one for AfricanAmerican, or Black, students and one for Mexican American students indifferent parts of the country. Analyses of interviews with 37 graduatesshowed that they benefitted from the schools’ approach to academic skilldevelopment and the building of resilience, leadership, and a commitment toservice in the context of a community that continued to support thedevelopment of resilience after middle school graduation. Differences inaspects of the two programs are examined along with the implications formaking use of the schools’ initiatives on a larger scale.