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Equity & Excellence in Education Volume 47, 2014 - Issue 2
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Original Articles

“To Virgo or not to Virgo”: Examining the Closure and Reopening of a Neighborhood School in a Predominantly African American Community

Donyell L. RoseboroUniversity of North Carolina WilmingtonCorrespondence[email protected]
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Candace M. ThompsonUniversity of South CarolinaView further author information
Pages 187-207 | Published online: 12 May 2014
 
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Abstract

Neighborhood schools engender the idea that schools can be integral community centers, with learning facilitated by the personal relationships developed among teachers, administrators, students, and parents. Neighborhood schools also have represented stigmatized segregated spaces located in communities with high poverty rates, low high school graduation rates, and little opportunity for social mobility. Drawing from print and online media sources related to the closure and reopening of D.C. Virgo Middle School (Virgo), a racially- and economically-segregated middle school in an urban, southern community, this study uses conceptual content analysis to examine the competing discourses surrounding Virgo. The authors conclude that the public discourse examined herein represents the tension between public schools as stigmatizing beloved spaces. As a stigmatizing space, the school can transfer the stigmatized identity to associated students and personnel. As a beloved space, the school can nurture possibility and hope.

APPENDIX

The following text sources were used as data sources for this article and are listed in chronological order.

Data Set 1Star News Online

The Star News is the city of Wilmington's daily newspaper, and has been in operation since 1867.

 

Data Set 2The Wilmington Journal

The Wilmington Journal is a weekly publication that features “News from the African American perspective without fear or favor” Several of the articles used did not have bylines.

  • N.A. (2011, October 6). Update on D.C. Virgo School. The Wilmington Journal.
  • Michaels, C. (2011, October 13). A conversation with Dr. Markley on the proposed charter school at D.C. Virgo. The Wilmington Journal.
  • N.A. (2012, March 29). Virgo to reopen. The Wilmington Journal.

Notes

1Dropout rates for African American students have declined since 1980 but remain higher than those for white students. In 2009, the dropout rate for African American students was 9.3% while the dropout rate for white students was 5.2% (Condition of Education, 2011). An achievement gap persists on standardized tests with African American students. In 2009, Black students scored 27 points lower on reading tests in grade 12 than their white counterparts. The gap is higher in mathematics—black students in 12th grade scored 30 points lower than white students.

2Despite increases in college enrollment for African American students, the number who complete college remains low at 17.8%.

3Virgo Preparatory Academy was formerly named D.C. Virgo Middle School. All prior school report cards use the D.C. Virgo Middle school name.

4The John F. Kennedy Award is a prestigious award honoring outstanding public servants.

5

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Donyell L. Roseboro

Donyell L. Roseboro is an associate professor in the Department of Instructional Technology, Foundations, and Secondary Education, and is the Director of the Professional Development System in the Watson College of Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her research and writing uses critical race, feminist, and identity theories to explore the ways in which democratic education might create more equitable learning opportunities for students and more heterarchic governance processes for teachers.

Candace M. Thompson

Candace Thompson received her Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include critical multicultural education in teacher education and developing cultural competency and critical consciousness in pre- and in-service teachers through school and community-based service learning.

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