“GIVE THEM A FIRM HANDSHAKE, LOOK THEM IN THE EYE, TRY TO MAKE A CONNECTION”: CRITICAL GRADUATE PERSPECTIVES ON SCHOOL ADVANCEMENT PRACTICES OF DE MARILLAC ACADEMY

Alicia Tapia, University of San Francisco

Abstract

This dissertation engages graduates of De Marillac Academy, a NativityMiguel school in San Francisco, in critical inquiry regarding school advancement practices. Graduates were asked how they participated in school advancement practices face-to-face with guests and donors, through media, on-campus and off-campus at their Annual Scholarship Benefit. Graduates engaged in photo and video elicitation interviews, in which photos and videos were used to spark commentary regarding their thoughts and experiences in advancement settings. As Catholic school educators, we are called to investigate the effects of a student’s formal and hidden curriculum in all aspects of their educational experience. This study found what the experiences of students and graduates were when they engaged in advancement activities, it investigated the ways that students and graduates code-switch and adapt their behavior based in advancement settings, and that these activities complicate their impressions of race, class, power and privilege. Educators, school leaders, advancement personnel, media producers, and donors should consistently listen to graduate experiences, build relationships, include culturally responsive teaching in their formal curriculum and accompany students and graduates as they navigate race, class, power, and privilege in advancement environments and their educational experience.