“It Was Kind of a Paradigm Shift”: Challenging White Space in a Gentrifying School

Purpose: This study examined challenges to gentrifying schools as white spaces, exploring the efforts of administrators and parents to create an equitable school environment during the initial years of the Diversity in Admissions policy. Methods: In qualitative fieldwork conducted over 2 years at City, a Title I public school in New York City, I observed school leadership meetings and events and interviewed key stakeholders, including school administrators and parents. Findings: Although City initially followed the typical trajectory of a gentrifying school, characterized by an influx of white, middle-class families and the marginalization of low-income families of color, a coalition of equity-focused leaders, Black placemakers, and white accomplices challenged this trend. This coalition engaged in critical debates on power dynamics, discipline policies, and the dual language program, with varying degrees of success. The diversity committee was the main site for the coalition’s work. Implications: Such coalitions could offer mechanisms to counteract the entrenched racial hierarchies and power structures typical of gentrifying schools, providing a potential model for other schools facing similar challenges.