This dissertation examines the extent to which the small schools movement facilitates the institutionalization of a form of education that is committed to democratic principles, social justice and academic (re)socialization of youth that have been historically disenfranchised in the United States. With the recent proliferation of small schools, I draw a distinction between critical small schools and schools that are simply just small, since many of the principles of the original movement have become obscured by an increasingly neo-liberal educational agenda. Drawing from critical theories in education, this study considers the possibilities and limitations of critical small schools as sites of inclusion and transformation, both within and beyond the context of school.

This monograph features Humanities Preparatory Academy (HPA), a public, college-preparatory critical small high school in New York City, designed for students who previously felt schooling unresponsive to their needs and were at-risk of dropping-out. Relying on participation observation, focus groups, interviews, surveys and document review, this dissertation analyzes how both former and current students at HPA made meaning of their experience at a school that describes itself as a democratic community. I argue that HPA successfully engages youth academically through the informal processes and formal structures of strong student-teacher relationships, a core values-infused culture of respect, and a thematic, culturally-relevant and project-based curriculum that encourages democratic participation, collective critical consciousness, and a commitment to social change. The overall school design solidifies the creation of an intergenerational and heterogeneous community that lays the groundwork for the academic re-socialization of youth that have previously felt marginalized in school.

The comprehensive curriculum presumably gives current and former students a platform from which to think about the world differently and imagine alternatives for the future. While many former students describe feeling well-adjusted for college however, they also suggest that they were ill-prepared for college-level Math. Moreover, students discuss encountering barriers to their sense of agency when negotiating external realities within and beyond the school. These issues raise broader questions about the academic cost of democratic education, as well as the extent to which education can be transformative when larger structural inequalities exist.