Racialized Continuation Schools and Limited Structural Pathways: Centering the Voices of Criminalized Latino Boys

Abstract

Background: For decades, disruptive students have been transferred to continuation schools, often considered their last chance. Purpose: This article aims to understand how Latino boys challenge the frequently negative perceptions about them and conceptualize their long-term aspirations. Findings: Our study highlights how students think about “making it out” of poverty and difficult life circumstances, how continuation schools foster a criminalizing environment reinforced through unchallenging curricula, and the specific recommendations youth offer continuation schools to support future students’ goals and aspirations better. Conclusion: These findings help illuminate how continuation schools’ culture and efforts to maintain a deficit-oriented culture toward Latino boys impact their daily educational experiences. Findings also showcase how continuation schools’ racialized organization and dynamics actively work to reinforce criminalizing practices and attitudes toward “bad kids.”