FIERY PASSION AND RELENTLESS COMMITMENT: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN PRINCIPALS IN TURNAROUND MODEL SCHOOLS by Adrienne L. Gratten Aldaco, B.A., M.Ed. A dissertation proposal submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in School Improvement December 2016 Committee Members: Melissa A. Martinez, Chair Sarah Nelson Baray, Co-Chair Maneka D. Brooks Bergeron Harris COPYRIGHT by Adrienne L. Gratten Aldaco 2016 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication permission As the copyright holder of this work, I, Adrienne L. Gratten Aldaco, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to: The memory of my little angel, Mia. You are always in my heart. Mami loves you! The memory of my dad, Robert Gratten. Dad, thank you for teaching me the value of hard work and to be brave. The love, smiles, and encouragement you sent from heaven kept me going on this journey. You will always be an inspiration to me. I love you. My mom, Teresa Gratten. Thank you for your faith in me, praying for me, and for reminding me of Philippians 4:13. Thank you for encouraging me to spread my wings. I love you. My husband, Abel. Thank you for your love and confidence in me. I am forever grateful for you. I love you, Honey! My daughter, Apollonia. Thank you for the tremendous joy you bring to my life. Mami loves you! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This has been an incredible journey, which taught me valuable lessons about perseverance, struggle, reflection, and having a burning passion for strengthening our education system. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to my husband, Abel and my daughter, Apollonia. Abel, thank you for being by my side and for believing in me. Thank you for being patient, understanding, and open as I evolved into a scholar; for sharing your wisdom, and for the many nights I kept you up with the lamp on so I could write. Apple, your bright smile and warm hugs were just what I needed during this journey. You are my treasure, my golden star! I would also like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my parents, Robert and Teresa Gratten, who instilled in me the value of learning, resilience, and hard work. Thank you for your heart-felt prayers, your faith in me, and for always sharing words of encouragement. Mom, thank you for helping us to raise Apple so I could focus on school and on writing. The writing retreats at your house provided the perfect setting to relax, focus, and to be productive. You are simply the best! Dad, thank you for being the proudest dad in the world! When I felt discouraged, I could hear you whisper, “Adge, you can do it,” and that made all the difference. Thank you for watching over me from heaven. v Thank you to my sister, Andrea, for accepting numerous phone calls from me to share my journey and for energizing me. Love you, Sis! To a woman I admire and respect greatly, Dr. Sarah Nelson Baray. Thank you for asking difficult questions and pushing me to think deeply. Thank you for your guidance, support, and tremendous influence during this process. Thank you, Dr., Melissa A. Martinez, Dr. Maneka D. Brooks, and Dr. Bergeron Harris for your brilliant suggestions and your time in helping me to enhance this work. Sarah Jean Baker, my friend and my partner in this doctoral journey, thank you for the long talks as we drove to and from school, the motivational words, the late-night texts, and the mighty prayers. We did it! A special thank you goes to my family, friends, colleagues, and church members who asked about my experiences, provided guidance and support, encouraged me, and prayed for me. I especially want to thank Aunt Debbie and Aunt Rosie for their soulful meals and Uncle Jeff for sharing his wisdom about this process. Thank you to my mother-in-law, Yolanda, for reminding me that this would all be worth it. And, thank you to my friends, Natalie, Teresa, Jennifer, Roneka, Charles, Jeff, Liz, Sandra, Yvonne, and Rachel for celebrating milestones with me. Thank you to the women of this study who make a positive difference in the lives of children every day. You inspire me! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Dream of the Salve......................................................................... 1 I Am NOT a Nigger! ...................................................................... 3 A Strong Black Woman ................................................................. 5 Statement of the Problem ............................................................... 6 Purpose of the Study .................................................................... 10 Theoretical Framework ................................................................ 12 Black Feminism ............................................................... 12 Black Women’s Standpoint Theory ................................. 18 Conceptual Framework ................................................................ 19 Significance of the Study ............................................................. 21 Scope of the Study ....................................................................... 22 Terminology ................................................................................. 22 Definition of Terms...................................................................... 23 Limitations and Delimitations ...................................................... 24 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 26 History of Black Women in America .......................................... 26 Slavery ............................................................................. 27 Post-Slavery Leadership .................................................. 31 Black Women in Education ......................................................... 35 Experiences of African American Female Principals ...... 39 Activism ............................................................... 41 Othermothering .................................................... 43 Shifting ................................................................. 44 vii African American Female Principals in Urban Schools ...................................................... 46 A Brief History of School Reform in America ............................ 47 Mindset ........................................................................................ 54 Equity and Access ........................................................................ 56 Building Relationships ................................................................. 59 A Brief History of School Turnaround: Defining School Turnaround and School Improvement Models ....................................................... 60 Actions of School Leaders in Turnaround Schools ..................... 62 Critique of School Turnaround and Turnaround Leadership ........................................................................ 67 Summary ...................................................................................... 69 III. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 71 Research Design........................................................................... 72 Narrative Research Method ......................................................... 73 Participant Selection ........................................................ 74 Purposeful sampling............................................. 74 Research participation criteria ............................. 75 Participant recruiting process ............................... 77 Data Collection ................................................................ 80 Data Analysis ................................................................... 82 An overview of Reissman’s representation of research process ................................... 82 Thematic analysis................................................. 83 Summary ...................................................................................... 86 IV. FINDINGS ............................................................................................... 88 Collection of Stories: Preliminary Research 2013-2014 ............. 88 Celeste Tramaine ............................................................. 89 Penelope Hemingway ...................................................... 93 Priscilla Chapman ............................................................ 98 Summary of Collection Stories: Preliminary Research 2013-2014 .....................................................................