Cultivating Equity Literacy in Schools and Communities

This book draws on research in community-based literacy, geospatial literacy, family literacy, and ethnography to examine complex dynamics of school choice and decision-making, and how literacy plays a role in increasing equity in schools and communities.Cultivating Equity Literacy in Schools and Communities begins by introducing the topics and intersections of school equity, advocacy, and place-based literacy, and describes the unique methodology of Multigenerational Collaborative Ethnography that is used in the book to understand schools’ material, social, and reputational change over time. Chapter 3 examines case studies of elementary schools across the Hillsdale Public Schools (HPS) district, highlighting two schools at opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum. The following five chapters offer perspectives and counterstories from families, educators, and children about school choice in their communities, and show how literacy (for children, families, and educators) is an essential tool to navigate the school decision-making process. Finally, the volume reflects on how we can and should define a “good” school through ethnographic understandings of the counterstories discussed.This book will be beneficial reading for scholars and advanced students of Literacy, Sociology of Education, and Social Justice Education, as well as those interested in school choice and decision-making, community-based research, qualitative research methods, and education policy.