College readiness and critical structural capital: mediating the dual meanings of readiness at a transfer community high school

Abstract

When schools and community-based organizations partner in an effort to better meet the needs of traditionally marginalized students, conflicts can arise when building leaders and educators in these settings define college readiness differently. This case study explores this occurrence at Townsend Transfer High School. This duality has led to a dual approach to college readiness that is sometimes in opposition to one another and leaves students unsure of how to define college readiness for themselves. The study explores how the different leadership styles of the Black woman principal and that of the white woman CBO director shape college readiness for Black and Latinx students. This study utilizes capital frameworks and proposes a critical structural capital framework that de-centers and reimages current dominant notions of who is responsible for accumulating capital or demonstrating how the capital they possess makes them worthy of equitable access to education.