A Good Investment? Philanthropy and the Marketing of Race in an Urban Public School
A Good Investment? Philanthropy and the Marketing of Race in an Urban Public School
Cite
Abstract
In 2008, The College Preparatory Academy, a traditional public high school in New York City, created its own in-house nonprofit organization in order to solicit donations from the private sector, most notably, an elite corporate firm in Midtown Manhattan. College Prep’s student body is primarily Black and Latino, while teachers are predominantly White. Approximately 78% of the student body is eligible for free-or reduced-price lunch. From the perspectives of many who are passionate about education, equity and justice, the creation of the school’s nonprofit seemed like a brilliant move in the context of an educational landscape known for entrenched and systemic inequalities. In the interest of “leveling the playing field”, many ask, why not take advantage of the generosity of funders who wish to make a difference through their gifts? While at first glance, the school’s successful marketing seems to lead to greater resources for its students, Brown demonstrates the drawbacks of a “political spectacle” in an education marketplace where charity masquerades as justice. Based on two years of qualitative teacher-research at the “College Preparatory Academy”, Brown’s critical ethnography foregrounds the voices of students, teachers and parents as she connects corporate philanthropic involvement with the maintenance of race, class and gender inequalities. The work calls into question the viability of private sector involvement as a means for the attainment of educational justice or social equity and in fact, asserts that models of corporate or philanthropic charity in education ironically reify the race and class hierarchies they purport to alleviate.
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Front Matter
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Introduction
Privatization and Political Spectacle in Education
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1
A Mind Is a Wonderful Thing to Invest In: Philanthropy and the New York City Public Schools
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2
The College Prep Look: Managing Image, Marketing Students
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3
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk: Professionalism at College Prep
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4
Waiting for Superwoman: White Female Teachers as “Neoliberal Saviors”
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5
Girl Drama: Black Female Students and the Spectacle of Risk
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6
Critical Thinking: Reading Urban Fiction with Students
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7
Behind the Mask: Professionalism and Life after College Prep
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Afterword
Beyond the Spectacle
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End Matter
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