School Choice and the Standpoint of African American Mothers: Considering the Power of Positionality

Cooper, Camille Wilson

Scholars, educators, and reformers continue to debate the merit of school-choice reform. In this article, the author marshals in-depth interview data from low-income and working-class African American mothers to describe how they engage in the educational marketplace and construct their school choices. The mothers' data shed light on the potential of charter schools and school vouchers to offer parents equal educational opportunity. Their stories show that their positionality-race, class, and gender factors- powerfully influences their educational decision-making. The mothers are determined to seek agency for their families through their school choice making, yet they question whether charter schools and vouchers can help them. Drawing upon feminist theory, the author counters traditional assumptions about the mothers and their school choices by introducing the notion of "positioned choice."

INTRODUCTION

Over the past decade, powerful educational and political groups have touted market-based schoolchoice reform as having the potential to improve public schools, while offering new choices to parents and students who have long been denied important educational liberties (Chubb & Moe, 1990; Schneider, Teske & Marschall, 2000; Vitteritti 1999). Two such reforms include the use of public vouchers for private school attendance and the creation of public charter schools that are exempt from most local and state education regulations. Charter schools and vouchers are popular and controversial school choice measures that rely on rules of supply and demand and view parents and students as education consumers.

Advocates for these policies claim that the autonomous and competitive nature of marketbased, school-choice reforms will make choice schools more accountable to the public, thus better for all parents. The reforms will particularly empower poor and minority parents to exercise choice and thereby escape failing, urban public schools (Manno, Finn, Bierlein, & Vanourek, 1998; Nathan, 1996;Peterson, 1999).

Two of the country's three publicly funded voucher programs operate in cities that are predominantly Black (Milwaukee and Cleveland). In 2000, a national public opinion poll conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (JCPE) found that 57% of African Americans favor public voucher programs, including 74% of African Americans with children in their households (JCPE, 2000). Moreover, market advocates have estimated that African American parents participate in at least 42 privately funded voucher programs throughout the country that target inner-city children (Moe, 1999). Statistics regarding African American students' enrollment in charter schools are more staggering. During the 2000-2001 school year, African American students comprised one-third (33%) of the U.S. charter school population, but only 17% of the U.S. public school population overall (Frankenberg & Lee, 2003).

Both scholarly work and the popular press show that market-based, school-choice reforms appeal to African American parents across the country-parents whose children mostly populate low-performing, urban public schools (Barnes, 1997; Fuller, Elmore, & Orfield, 1996; Miller, 1992; Shokraii, 1996). This fits a pattern of Black parents seeking increased accountability, opportunity, choice, and voice within their children's schools, which they have done since the advent of public schooling (Alien & Jewel, 1995; Anderson, 1988; Levin, 1972; Shujaa, 1992).

Critics suspect that underprivileged parents are destined to face defeat in a competitive educational marketplace given their limited socioeconomic resources (Henig, 1994; Wells, Lopez, Scott, & Holme, 1999). Apple (2001), Carl (1994), and Henig (1996) further suggest that parents of color are pawns in the political games of free-market proponents. They contend that market-oriented school-choice reforms are inequitable and exploit parents of color by capitalizing on their hopes and desperation for better schooling, while advancing conservative political agendas that fail to serve the parents' interests. They dispute the merits of school vouchers and charter schools and the impact on disadvantaged families. Input from parents of color, however, has rarely informed this debate.

This article draws from in-depth interview data from low-income and working-class African American mothers to describe how these women construct their school choices given their experiences in public schools, educational goals for their children, and their views about their school choice options. Most of the prior school choice research that addresses parental choice making and ideology is embedded in theories that assume that parents, operating in a minimally restrained educational marketplace, function as objective, rational choosers who maximize benefits for their children. Based on the mothers' narratives, the author argues that parents' subjective positionality, as opposed to their objective rationality, powerfully influences their school choices. Parents, therefore, are more apt to make positioned school choices.

Positionality, a term that comes from feminist scholarship, refers to how one is socially located (or positioned) in relation to others given background factors such as race, class, and gender (Maher & Tetreault, 1993; Martin & VanGunten, 2002). A person's positionality relates to the extent to which they are privileged, resourceful, powerful, and thus able to navigate and succeed within the dominant social structure.

The notion of positioned school choice conceptualizes a highly subjective parental school choice process that is inextricably linked to choice makers' race, class, and gender backgrounds. Positioned choices are emotional, value-laden, and culturally relevant. They are also informed by how parents are politically situated within greater society and the educational structure.

Collins's (1990) explication of Black feminist thought, a body of theory that, in part, describes the distinct epistemology and meaning of Black women, greatly influenced the author's conceptualization of positioned choice. Black feminist thought addresses the positionality of Black women, emphasizing how oppression, a culturally relevant value system, and the desire for agency can shape how Black women navigate their personal lives and social institutions (Collins, 1990, 1994, 1998). Data in this study from African American mothers show that their understanding of their race, class, and gender backgrounds is central to how they construct their school-choice options.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE: MARKETS, EQUITY, AND AFRICAN AMERICAN PARENTS

According to a market-based paradigm, parents enter the educational marketplace and set goals, seek information, evaluate prospective schools, and select their preferred school. Parents also enter the marketplace with differing values, beliefs, information, and resources. All of these things help determine the schools that parents desire and are able to choose for their children. Schools compete to attract parent consumers because they need the parents to choose them in order to remain open. Parents' demand for certain types of schooling characteristics influences what schools supply them. Pro-market advocates further insist that the competitive nature of the market, which results from supply and demand forces, benefits the consumer by giving them a range of quality schools to choose from, including those that suit their children's needs (Chubb & Moe, 1990; Levin, 1991; Vitteritti, 1999).

Market paradigms often fail to acknowledge that marginalized parent groups must first gain access to the market and successfully navigate through it in order to participate in the charter and voucher reforms that are available in their communities. This requires them to be aware of their school choice options and yield sufficient socioeconomic resources. Critical scholars suggest that the competitive nature of the educational marketplace contributes to it being divisive and oppressive; consequently, it fails to empower marginalized parent groups (Henig, 1994; Levin, 1991; Parker & Margonis, 1996). Some critics also fear that poor children of color will remain in deteriorating public schools that more savvy and resourceful families choose to leave (Lewis & Nakagawa, 1994; Parker & Margonis, 1996; Trent, 1992; Wells et al, 1999).

Scholars have also questioned whether African American parents are apt to interact within the marketplace and choose schools in a way that best serves their children. Most African American parents from low-income and working-class families are deemed to be inactive choosers or "nonchoosers" (Fuller et al., 1996). It is assumed that these choosers place less emphasis on academic factors when choosing schools, and thus send their children to inferior quality schools because they lack the initiative, knowledge, or proper priorities to make sound educational choices (Diamond & Gomez, 2004; Fuller et al, 1996; Henig, 1996; Moe, 1995, Cookson, 1992). Such conclusions reflect the acceptance of an oversimplified paradigm that does not acknowledge that African American parents may select schools in distinct ways that are indeed legitimate given the needs of their families.

In addition, much of the school-choice literature is grounded in traditional theoretical assumptions that are generalized to all parents and, therefore, do not adequately account for the decision-making, values, or beliefs of parents of color. Such theoretical assumptions, mainly those grounded in rational choice theory, presume that parents make well-informed decisions about schools based on traditional school quality indicators like test scores (Coleman & Farraro, 1992; Neiman & Stambough, 1998; Wells, 1993).

Rational choice assumptions about school choice making are grounded in an individualistic framework that implies that an educational choice or outcome that fails to benefit parents and their children results from an individual's poor decision-making. The assumptions fail to consider how social contexts and systemic constraints can hinder parents' choice-making abilities (Gewirtz, Ball, & Bowe, 1995; Wells, 1993). They also do not recognize that one's rationality or judgment can be subjective, emotional, and culturally specific-and legitimately so (Collins, 1998; Robnett, 1997; Scheff, 1992).

This study of African American mothers' educational views, experiences, and choices reveals that race, class, and gender factors are critical to their school decision-making, in which the mothers perceive traditional public schools as sites of sociopolitical and cultural resistance. Moreover, the salience of mothers' positionality reinforces their tendency to make positioned choices, rather than rational ones.

RESEARCH METHODS

To capture the school choice perspectives of African American mothers, a qualitative study that incorporated interpretivism and critique was designed. Feminist methodological principles also guided the research approach. According to key tenets of feminist methodology, researchers try to understand women's perspectives in order to de-center dominant sociological assumptions and identify how social, political, and economic forces contribute to women's marginalized position in society (Bloom, 1998; Harding, 1991, 1992; Smith, 1987). Researchers then draw on the data regarding women's perspectives to critique the sociopolitical structures in which women interact (Harding, 1991; Smith, 1987). In this case, the shared perspective (or standpoint) of low-income and working-class African American mothers was used rather than relying on the assumptions of rational choice theory.

Purposive sampling methods were used to enlist the 14 mothers who participated in this study. The sampling criteria required the participants to be low-income or working-class African American mothers with children who had previously attended traditional, elementary public schools but were currently enrolled in different types of middle schools. A small, prioritized list of schools in Los Angeles, California that had parents who met the sampling criteria was made according to the schools' location, demographic make-up, and public or private status. The final participants came from four schools altogether, including a traditional public school, charter school, Afrocentric private school, and Catholic school.

Each of the African American mothers who participated in this study identified themselves as having a low-income or working-class socioeconomic status. The mothers were asked to assess their class status based on their own perceptions, rather than creating an arbitrary income cut-off or proxy to categorize them. Traditional socioeconomic indicators such as students' free or reduced lunch status or the government's definition of poverty level can be problematic. These indicators are decontextualized constructs that may not reflect long-term economic hardships that families face, such as the impact of divorce or chronic illness (Edin & Lein, 1997). The reliance on the mothers' self-identification aligns with the feminist methodological principles that emphasize the value of self-definition. This approach further affirms the notion that class is subjective and fluid (Bullock & Limbert, 2003). Nevertheless, all of the mothers in this study face significant financial hardships.

Ideally, mothers of private school students who received public vouchers would have been included since much of the school choice debate revolves around public voucher initiatives. There are, however, no public voucher programs in California. Yet, 4,500 Los Angeles parents received financial assistance from a private voucher association to attend schools of their choice during the 1999-2000 academic year. One of the mothers in this study, whose child attends the Afrocentric academy, has funding from the association. Four other mothers considered applying for or sought financial assistance from the organization, including a Catholic school mother.

In all, the sampling criteria stem from salient issues discussed in school choice literature and the conceptual framework. For instance, many market-based, school choice policies target low-income parents living in urban areas whose children are enrolled in large, urban public school systems. These systems usually have poor academic track records and are criticized for being inefficient, bureaucratic, and unresponsive to their students' needs. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has faced these criticisms (Birdsall, 1999); the mothers have children who attended primary schools in this district.

Examining the educational views, choices, and experiences of mothers was warranted because mothers are often their children's primary school choice maker and their perspectives are underrepresented in educational research (David, West, & Ribbens, 1994; Ogawa & Dutton, 1994). This sample also includes "othermothers," a term Collins (1991, p. 119) uses to refer to Black women who provide maternal guidance and support to children that are not their own. In this study, othermothers comprise grandmothers who are legal guardians of their grandchildren.

Once permission to visit four school sites was provided, fliers were distributed to parents before and after school, parents were called, letters were mailed to homes, and parent meetings were attended to enlist research participants. The time and practical demands that participating in the study involved was explained, and it was confirmed whether prospective participants met the sampling criteria. The sample was finalized and then two rounds of in-depth interviews with each mother were conducted. The interviews reaped approximately 60 hours of data.

To interpret the mothers' narratives, the author fully transcribed each interview. Each transcript was read through several times to pinpoint salient themes, patterns, and relationships. The author coded the transcripts while reading them and repeatedly reevaluated the coding scheme and preliminary analyses so not to make premature judgments, but rather stay open to organizing the data in various ways. The coding scheme was altered several times and recoded according to numerous descriptive labels and a few key analytical themes (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Once the author was confident of the validity and usefulness of the scheme, the data were clustered by code and given a final review.

The author's conceptual framework further warranted that the data be examined in light of the tenets of rational choice theories, Black feminist thought, and historical educational contexts. This was done to also push thinking beyond the concepts and assumptions of these theories to be able to say something new and different about the findings. In all, deductive analytical methods were used to confirm or disconfirm the salience of the theoretical framework while employing inductive analytical methods to build a new theory regarding African American mothers' school choices (Eisenhardt, 1989; Miles & Huberman, 1994).

Furthermore, the author drafted three sets of analytical memos that flushed out the preliminary analyses. The memos addressed findings at an individual, school-wide and cross-participant level. In all three sets of memos, how the data addressed the research questions was considered, and consistency and contradiction in the mothers' data were examined. It is the mothers' shared perspectives-their collective standpoint-that offers the most important implications about the nature of the educational marketplace and school choice policies. The author has chosen to convey data by emphasizing cross-participant findings.

Local Educational Contexts

LAUSD is the backdrop of the educational marketplace in which the mothers in this study functioned. LAUSD is situated within and around the City of Los Angeles. The district serves more than 720,000 students making it the second largest school district in the nation. As of the 1999-2000 school year, when data collection for this study began, LAUSD's student population was approximately 70% Latino (Hispanic), 13% Black, 10 % White, 4% Asian, with the remaining 3% of students designated as being of other racial and ethnic heritage.

LAUSD operates under California's open enrollment policy, which allows students to attend any school in any district as long their families provide transportation and there is available space. LAUSD, in addition, offers its own school choice options to parents as a result of their court-ordered desegregation plan, including approximately 150 magnet programs that admit 20% of its applicants. Nearly 60 charter schools operate within LAUSD. Over a dozen charter schools have opened in predominantly African American or Latino neighborhoods in recent years. The State of California does not allow school vouchers, though twice in the last decade a powerful constituency of California voters made major efforts to pass state référendums that would adopt public voucher policies. Most recently, a public voucher initiative called Proposition 38 was placed on the ballot during the November 2000 election. The initiative failed, receiving the approval of only one-third of the state's voters. Although LAUSD ostensibly offers public school parents several school choice options, Los Angeles remains a very complex and contentious educational marketplace to navigate.

RESULTS

The following sections describe the mothers, overview their educational contexts, and highlight their views about public schools and their desire to exit them. Additional results present the mothers' viewpoints on educational goals, school choice making processes and their perspectives on charter schools, and school vouchers.

Mothers' Views of Public Schools and Desire to Exit

The 14 mothers whose voices and experiences are reflected in this article comprise a diverse group of school choice makers. They are all African American women with limited financial resources, yet they differ in age, education level, occupation, and the number of children they are raising or have raised. Many factors confound the mothers' school choices and views; thus, they have chosen very different schools for their children.

Walker Middle School (Grandmothers). Walker Middle School, the traditional public site, was placed on the list of the 100 worst schools in LAUSD in 1998. At that time, it had one of the lowest rates of student performance and parent involvement and a high rate of teacher turnover (Caputo-Pearl, 1999). Walker is designated as a Title I school because most of its 1800 students come from low-income families: 41% of the student population is African American. One-third of Walker students are in out-of-home placements, meaning that they are being raised by alternative caregivers.

The four Walker mothers in the study are all grandmothers with legal custody of their grandchildren, and each has been active volunteers at Walker Middle School. The grandmothers criticized public schools, including Walker, yet they reported that they never considered private schools as a viable school choice option for their grandchildren due to their financial hardships. For instance, Ms. D explained, "I wasn't able 'cause I didn't have the money, so I just put them in regular schools, 'cause when you living off of a fixed income it's kind of rough."

Hillsdale Charter School (Mothers). Hillsdale Charter School is situated in a very affluent, predominantly White residential community that is a small oasis from Los Angeles's urban settings. The charter school has a reputation for academic excellence, and it is racially mixed (in contrast to the predominantly White schools found in comparable sections of the city). Hillsdale first operated as a public magnet school and then converted into a charter school in the early 1990s. Approximately 17% of the school's 1500 students are African American. Four mothers from the charter school participated in this study. Three of the mothers have children with disabilities; they emphasized that even if they could afford to pay private school tuition, private schools do not have adequate facilities and services for children with special needs.

Imani Afrocentric Academy (Mothers). Imani Afrocentric Academy is located just five minutes away from Walker Middle School, in a similar under-resourced community. Almost 100% of Imani's 300 students are Black, and the school maintains an average class size of 15. It has a reputation for academic excellence; although the school's Afrocentric focus has sparked controversy. The academy employs non-certified teachers and offers critical and culturally relevant instruction. The Imani mothers maintained that private Afrocentric schooling has offered their children academic and cultural benefits that will help them succeed in life. The Imani mothers further stressed how they struggle to pay the academy's $5,000 annual tuition.

The Trinity Catholic School (Mothers). Trinity Catholic School is in the same South Central Los Angeles region as the Imani and Walker schools. Like the academy, it has approximately 300 students, 95% are Black. The school sits in the midst of a well-cared-for working class, African American neighborhood; yet, it is close to decaying, neighborhood blocks that have a high gang presence. Many of Trinity's students go on to prestigious, college preparatory, Catholic high schools.

Only one Trinity mother said she was attracted to the school because of its religious focus (although she and her family are not Catholic). All three pay Trinity's $200 monthly tuition without financial assistance. Moreover, four of the six mothers paying either Catholic school or Imani Academy tuition identified themselves as working-class as opposed to low-income. These mothers used funds from child support or extended family to help cover private school costs.

The Value of Education and Positioned School Choices

All of the 14 mothers stressed the value of education and linked educational attainment to their children's chances for socioeconomic advancement; thus, the prospect of their children attaining a quality education carries high stakes. One mother asserted that with an education, society's powerholders "can't deny you from nothing." Most of the mothers, in fact, explained that they are motivated to choose good schools for their children because academic success can help their children to become independent; compete against more affluent peers; protect and defend themselves in a racist society; and have more prosperous life options than they themselves have had. The mothers' motivations and goals directly reflected their positionality, particularly the hardships that they attribute to race, class, and gender factors. For instance, Ms. C, a mother from the Afrocentric academy, expressed concern about the treatment of Black boys in the public school system. She reflected on her reasons for withdrawing her son from a public school and asserted:

It was like being a Black boy was something that was not good, and you have to feel good within yourself to succeed . . . And you'd be surprised how you trust your kid with a teacher and the teacher's with him more than you are. They're with him the majority of the day, and for someone to just really lower your child's self-esteem was horrible.

The mothers also emphasized what they perceived to be the inadequacy of urban, traditional public schools. They recounted numerous negative encounters they and their children have had within such schools, particularly those involving public school teachers they characterized as unqualified, uncommitted, uncaring, or biased toward their children (Cooper, 2003). Most mothers associated educators' bias with the negative opinions they held about their children's racial background, disability, or single-parent households. For instance, Ms. C, another Afrocentric school mother, contended:

A lot of teachers are from very different areas and bring their own issues into a classroom setting. Well if you know you're not particularly crazy about African American children, than why would you accept a job in a predominantly African American area? Just so you can get your feet wet to climb up and go wherever you want to go? No, it doesn't work like that!

Furthermore, Ms. R, a charter school mother, stated that she withdrew her son who had a learning disability from a traditional public school because, "he came home one day saying his resource teacher told him that he would never be normal." She added that this incident revealed the "deficit-driven mentality" of the educators at that school.

In total, the mothers shared an adamant belief that their positionality, and that of their children, placed them at a disadvantage in schools and in the educational marketplace. The mothers' positionality colors the lens through which they see and interact with the world, which prompts them to make positioned school choices. So, the mothers' school choices are constructed based on culturally relevant factors and concern for their children's emotional well-being in addition to their interest in their children's academic achievement.

Data from the mothers further suggest that their positionalities are connected to their financial struggles, which other recent work similarly affirms (Diamond & Gomez, 2004; Ostrove & Cole, 2003). Twelve of the 14 mothers in this study were single. These women stressed that they made numerous sacrifices to financially provide for their families. This partly consists of them choosing to work overtime each week, work two jobs, or take public transit rather than buy a car. In addition, the grandmothers spoke of accepting that part of their life is on hold in order for them to raise their grandchildren, as did the mothers who have children with special needs. Almost all of the mothers concurred that these factors affect every aspect of their life, from their emotional health to their school choice making and school involvement abilities. Most of the mothers agreed with one's statement that child rearing and school choice making duties fall "all on me." As Ms. M, a Hillsdale Charter School mother, stated, "That's a challenge because it's only me and whatever doesn't work that I do there's nothing else to do."

Despite the obstacles the mothers face, each stressed their resolve to make the sacrifices necessary to secure the best education possible for their children. The mothers explained that this is part of the role they assume as a mother and as the primary school choice maker in their child's life. Mrs. M, one of the two married mothers, stated, "I don't care if they're married or single, women are always the ones that are going to be making the (school) choices."

Facing the prospect of choosing a middle school inspired many of the mothers to heavily contemplate the feasibility and advantages of placing their children in a public or private school.

The mothers took initiative to investigate and evaluate their children's educational options before selecting a school. This involved calling schools and district offices and visiting prospective schools to tour the facilities or observe classrooms. Most of the public school mothers said they formed influential impressions of school sites based on their exploration. A few of the private school mothers explained that they selected their child's middle school based on others' referrals and the school's convenient location.

Working the Public System

Data from most of the grandmothers at Walker Middle School and the mothers at Hillsdale Charter School show that these women have been active school choice makers though they function within the public system. The grandmothers initially enrolled their grandchildren in Walker because it was the site closest to their residence and where the district designated their grandchildren to attend. Each Walker grandmother soon became disappointed with the traditional middle school. For instance, Ms. J remarked:

As far as public schools [go], I believe that a child can make it in public schools, I just don't believe that the majority will. I know the majority won't because it's already proven. I mean, I see it every day. I just knew I wanted (my grandson) to get out of this school. He never has homework. He never has books. All of this money that LAUSD has [and] the kids don't have books-I don't understand that. And I just don't see that the teachers and parents work together.

The other grandmothers concurred with Ms. J's remarks and further noted Walker's overcrowded conditions and high teacher turnover rates. While at Walker, the grandmothers learned more about LAUSD's open enrollment policies, which prompted them to pursue alternative, public school options. When I interviewed the grandmothers for the second time during the summer of 2000, all but one had decided to transfer their grandchildren to other public middle schools.

Contrary to the Walker grandmothers, the Hillsdale Charter School mothers said their children's neighborhood public schools turned them off from the very start. The mothers perceived the schools as unsafe and having poor academics and/or inappropriate special education programs for their children. The three mothers who have children with special needs explained that they were aware of open enrollment policies and their right to select a school that could accommodate their children. They gained this awareness by educating themselves about their children's rights. These mothers agreed that obtaining information about their school choice options via word-of-mouth is often easier than getting it from district officials. Ms. A., whose son has autism, asserted:

No one wants to tell you anything. 'It's like if we (the school district) tell you that this is available you might ask for it and it'll cost money, so we're not going to tell you.'And there's been times when I've been real specific about what I wanted for my son as far as his social skills, and nobody said, Oh well here's this class that may be ten miles away.' Well how do you know I can't get there? No, no, no, they don't tell you anything! 1 learned about everything from other parents, but a lot of times that happens too late.

In addition, each charter school mother indicated her belief that choosing public schools is a right not a privilege: yet, they agreed that the choice process can be "hard" and "discouraging." While the Walker and Hillsdale mothers have learned to take advantage of the public school choice policies, they agreed that unlike White affluent parents in LAUSD, they lack adequate information about their options, for which they blame the district. So again, the mothers pointed to their race and class as being aspects of their positionality that disadvantage them when choosing schools.

The six private school mothers have limited experience choosing among Los Angeles's public schools. In fact, all but one sent their children to only one public school before transferring them to Imani Afrocentric Academy or Trinity Catholic School. Consequently, data indicate that the most significant school choice the private school mothers made was choosing to exit the public school system. In doing so, they did not face the same complicated web of admission and transportation policies as the public school mothers. Instead, they dealt with straightforward private school admission procedures and found ways to transport their children to and from the private school sites on their own. The Imani and Trinity mothers each asserted that the private school enrollment process was relatively simple.

The private school mothers insisted their children were not being challenged in the public school system due to ill-performing teachers or overall substandard schools. For instance, Ms. S said students at the Afrocentric academy are "constantly being enriched and exposed and enlightened" compared to those in public schools. While Trinity mother Ms. D stated that, unlike public schools, the Catholic school offers "good discipline and control." In addition, the three Imani mothers contended that the school's administrators and teachers hold very high expectations of the students and express sincere interest in their academic performance and personal well being. They agreed that this influenced their school choices since it contrasted with their experiences with public schools.

Most of the private school mothers stressed their desire to keep their children in private schools for the duration of their secondary education. Ms. M, a Catholic school mother, most adamantly conveyed this.

I would never send my kids to a regular public school. I don't care what area it's in, whether it's way out far with all the White kids, or whatever, I wouldn't. If it's a magnet school I would. I like some of the magnet schools. They're good, but not a regular public school, no way!

This mother further explained that she prefers private schools because they are "smaller, it's more of a unity, it's more organized, and people are more involved because public schools act like they don't care if they want parents."

Mothers' School Choice Goals and Criteria

The mothers' school choice criteria relate to their desire to find schools that offer their children a "good environment." The mothers suggested that such a school must be safe and orderly and have clean facilities, caring and effective teachers, strong student discipline, and a convenient location.

All four charter school mothers agreed that the school's charter status was not an influential choice factor. Ms. M asserted:

I went there, I liked the teacher that I met, her curriculum, and knowing that other children (who know her son) would be there, and, it came recommended. That was my main reason why I wanted (my son) to go to it, whether it was charter or not.

Finally, a school's racial composition proved to be important to several mothers. Mothers from each of the four schools stressed the value of their children gaining "cultural exposure" and "getting along" with other racial groups. Most also agreed that doing so is a survival skill their children should master as African Americans living in a diverse society. The mothers differed in their views of whether it is necessary for exposure to diversity to occur in a school setting or through their children's' involvement in extracurricular activities, travel, and family outings. Thus, they differed in whether they perceived exposing their children to various cultures as a general parenting goal or a specific school choice preference. Imani Academy and Trinity Catholic School mothers, for instance, emphasized the value they place on sending their children to culturally affirming, predominantly African American schools.

As with judging a good environment, the mothers considered a host of factors while trying to determine if a school provided quality learning and instruction. The mothers referred to evaluating whether a school offered curriculum that would challenge their children, accommodate their special needs, match their interests, and provide a well-rounded balance. The mothers, overall, did not heavily weigh a school's standardized test scores and percentile rankings. This counters findings from other work that explains the high priority affluent White parents place on student achievement data during their choice making process (Holme, 2002).

The positioned school choice model accounts for the fact that the mothers in this study have a holistic view of quality schooling, which previous school choice literature rarely acknowledges or validates. The fact that some mothers have had to make school choices that involve protecting their children's physical and emotional welfare before worrying about test scores and academic rankings does not mean they are unwise choice makers. Instead, it reflects the social and political realities of their environment, their lives, and the status of urban, public schools. The positioned choice assumptions allow one to consider parents' choices given these contextual factors.

MOTHERS' VIEWS OF SCHOOL-CHOICE REFORMS

The mothers' reflections about their school choice making process signal their disadvantaged position in the educational marketplace compared to more resourceful parents. Market advocates contend that charter schools and public school vouchers can help level the playing field for parents like the mothers in this study; nonetheless, the mothers' views and experiences cast doubt over such assertions.

Depending on the distinct ways each mother views the impact of her positionality, the mothers either see charter schools and vouchers as vehicles for hope and improved educational outcomes for their children, or they perceive the reforms as just another educational trend that policymakers and educators say will help all children but will in fact fail to benefit low-income and working-class African Americans like them.

Lack of Charter School Awareness

Most of the charter schools that operated within the LAUSD during the period that the mothers were interviewed were located in predominantly African American and Latino parts of Los Angeles. Several mothers live near charter schools, but hardly any of them were aware of the charter school concept, including three of the mothers whose children were enrolled at Hillsdale Charter School. Half of the mothers, in fact, had never heard of charter schools prior to their participation in this study. Only two knew of the equity debate pertaining to them. The author explained the charter school concept to the rest of the mothers and overviewed the arguments of charter school advocates and critics.

The charter school idea impressed almost all of the mothers since the schools are autonomous, known to be more responsive to parents, and start-up charter schools often have very small student populations. Mrs. M stated, "It's a good idea if it's fair. It doesn't hurt to try, but it needs to be fair." Her mention of fairness pertained to her contention that charter schools should be accessible to all families. She and several other mothers liked the idea of public school systems offering more school choices to parents; however, they asserted that it is problematic that only a small parent population is able to take advantage of charter schools. This group, which comprised mothers from all four schools, expressed some apprehension about critics' claims that charters attract the most informed, involved, and resourceful parents away from the traditional public school system, a trend that results in a decline of political support and resources for public schools (Cobb & Glass, 1999; Wells, et al, 2000; Whitty, 1996).

The mothers perceived charter schools as offering benefits to individual students and families, but said they were not convinced that charter schools could spark competition among public schools and lead to significant reform overall. Several of the mothers, however, indicated that they did not feel comfortable discussing charter schools at length without being better informed. For instance, Ms. C, whose son attended LAUSD schools for five years prior to her enrolling him in Imani Academy, expressed frustration at what she said is the district's failure to adequately inform parents about their school choice options. She remarked,

I've never heard of it (charter schools), and if you have, where do you go to even apply? You have to know about them to even ask questions. So that's difficult because it sounds like a really good program.

Furthermore, Ms. R, a mother at Hillsdale Charter School, commented that LAUSD sends a "confusing" pamphlet to district parents each year that describes various school choice options and reform policies. She asserted that the information is "Greek" to most Black parents who "just don't know."

Four mothers were anxious to know more about charter schools. My conversations with these women, in fact, sparked their interest in the reform, and they said they may explore charter options for their children in the future.

Conflicting Views about Vouchers

Overall, the mothers were much more aware of the school voucher concept and the heated debate surrounding it. Most of them developed strong opinions about the reform idea prior to our interviews. A couple of the mothers (one from the charter school, another from the Afrocentric academy) explained that they favored the adoption of publicly funded, school vouchers. They, like the other mothers, linked the voucher debate to the issue of providing public school parents private school options at the possible risk of draining financial and political support from public schools. These two mothers were also aware of assertions that this could prompt public schools to only serve the most underprivileged and poor students who, in Los Angeles, are most likely to be African American or Latino. Nevertheless, they argued that vouchers are a good idea that could benefit their families. Neither woman believed that African American children would be disproportionately left behind in declining urban public schools as a result of vouchers.

Ms. C, an Afrocentric academy mother, asserted that vouchers would give working class parents like her the financial boost they need to afford private school tuition. Still, she stated that a voucher "may help you get a shorter line, but it's not going to be your ticket to get in." She said that many Blacks would still be "left out of the loop," but indicated that it is better to adopt a school choice policy that benefits some African American families rather than help none at all. Similarly, another mother from Imani asserted:

Vouchers would really help supplement (my efforts to pay tuition), whereas putting her in a public school that's not up to par, to me, I'm doing my child a disservice . . . It's almost like every man for himself really, . . . it's sad because there are so many underprivileged kids that are not making it, or their parents either don't care, don't have the knowledge,. . I do feel bad about that, but I can't hold my child back because of that.

Eight mothers from across the four schools stated that they disapprove of public school voucher reforms. Some mothers suggested vouchers are problematic since they only cover a portion of private school tuition. This group doubted whether many parents could afford to pay the rest of the tuition since they themselves would be unable to do so. Yet, most of the mothers pointed to their concern that vouchers would negatively impact the public school system. Five mothers were particularly familiar with the voucher concept given that they explored private voucher options through a private voucher association. Four of these five mothers lacked the funds and access to transportation to make a private voucher worthwhile. For instance, Ms. R, from Hillsdale Charter School, explained, "The scholarship was something like $1,500 each, which on a tuition of $8,000 for the year wasn't a drop in the bucket."

Ms. C, the one mother with a private voucher, said she does not support public vouchers. She contended, "Even if they go and get the vouchers there's going to be a loophole-those parents are not going to be able to come up with the rest of that money." She also characterized the private voucher association's program as "misleading" since she knew of parents who "couldn't afford to take the voucher." Ms. C said the only reason she could do so is because she was willing and able to make the necessary sacrifices, such as taking up to 12 buses to transport her and her son to work and school each day. Still, the limitations that she attributed to the association's program contributed to her anti-voucher stance.

Finally, other mothers stressed that the public vouchers are most damaging because they are funded with tax revenue that could be spent to help public schools. Ms. B, a Catholic school mother, who applied for a private voucher and was denied, stated:

They need to take that money and improve the public school system, and then we can take our kids out of these private schools, honestly. If they could put the money into the schools around here, and have them where they're safe, and have them where the classrooms are small, and they have teachers there that can control their classrooms, then (my daughter) would be getting dropped off every morning at a public school and picked up from a public school.

Like Ms. B, most remarks of the mothers who provided anti-voucher pointed to ways that policymakers should reform urban public school systems rather than "abandon" them.

The mothers' data signify the diversity of views African American parents have about the merit and efficacy of market-based, school-choice reforms. Still, the mothers agreed on the initiatives' key limitation-their capacity to assist only a small segment of the African American families.

CONCLUSION

The educational market's competitive forces do not drive the educational decision-making of the mothers in this study as much as their quest for equal educational opportunity-something that both the majority of urban, public schools and market-based school choice options fail to offer them. The mothers strive to gain the power, resources, and educational opportunities their children need to successfully compete and advance in society. Consequently, school choice making serves as a form of sociopolitical and cultural resistance for these mothers.

All but three of the 14 mothers withdrew their children from the traditional public school system by the end of this study. Their choice to exit the public school system reflects their frustration and unwillingness to have their individual children miss out on educational opportunities while reformers and policymakers debate about how to improve the system. Thus, the mothers' school choices do not reflect all of their ideals, but they do reflect their priorities.

While the findings from this study cannot be generalized to all African American mothers, the data offer valuable insight and important theoretical implications regarding school choice. Data show that the mothers' positionality deeply impacts their educational views and school choices; this follows the idea that race, class, and gender are interlocking features of Black women's identities and epistemology, which Black feminist thought asserts (Collins, 1990). The positioned choice idea accounts for this as well.

The notion of positioned choice helps to contextualize the mothers' decision-making and assess the mothers' decisions on their own terms and according to their distinct standpoint. The positioned choice perspective does not negate African American mothers' rationality or logic. To the contrary, data reveal that the women in this study are very rational, but in a more complex and sophisticated way than rational choice assumptions indicate.

The mothers indicate that improving public schools to meet their children's needs means providing better school facilities and creating safe and tolerant educational environments. Effective reform also requires that public school educators reject deficit thinking by believing in the potential of all children to achieve high standards and providing children with the instruction and resources they need to excel. Public school systems could learn from the mothers' desire to enroll their children in private schools. Mothers point to private schools offering a rigorous curriculum, small school and class size, and educators who know their students and show sensitivity for the hardships that impact their lives.

The mothers' data further suggest that school district officials make the school choice process more equitable by holding more informational sessions about public school choice options in urban, low-income and working class communities; providing public transportation or transportation vouchers to public choice schools; offering accessible and attractive program options to students with special needs; and organizing weekend and evening school involvement opportunities in which working parents can participate.

The success of school choice policies does not rest on the actions of individual parent choosers alone. It also relies on the relationship between parental choice and structural inequality. Since parents make positioned choices, educators and policymakers share the responsibility of ensuring that all students gain access to high quality education.

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Camille Wilson Cooper University of North Carolina, Greensboro

AUTHOR

CAMILLE WILSON COOPER is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations at University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

All comments and queries should be addressed to [email protected].

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