Blackgirl Dreaming: Visions for Urban School Transformation Through the Eyes of Blackgirls in an Urban Alternative School

Abstract

Alternative schools have generally functioned as dumping grounds for students who are pushed out of traditional public schools—disproportionately impacting youth from historically marginalized communities. Blackgirls in particular, who must navigate the margins of the margins being both Black and female, are often silenced and excluded from discourse on alternative schooling, yet, they face unique challenges and traumas both within and outside of their urban school communities. Pushing them out of traditional schools and sentencing them to alternative schools only exacerbates the trauma, often leading to retraumatization due to schools not being equipped to unpack and address these traumas effectively. Because of this, alternative schools often evoke harm to students, and thus, should be dismantled. In lieu of the exclusionary practices of pushing students out of traditional schools, turnaround efforts should be geared toward equipping traditional urban schools to meet the needs of these youth. This chapter will explore the dreams and visions of Blackgirls from an urban alternative school who reimagine urban school transformation by uplifting trauma-informed, healing-centered approaches, anti-racist/anti-bias staff training, identity- and community-affirming practices, and the centering of student voice and action in reform efforts.