The school-to-prison pipeline in America

Aïcha Cissé is a Swiss-African 5th-year graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Fordham University in New York. Aïcha immigrated to the United States to pursue higher education. After one year at a community college, she was awarded a scholarship to pursue a bachelor in Psychology and Sociology at Columbia University, where she graduated summa cum laude. Aïcha got involved in several social justice oriented projects, including teaching workshops at the Rikers Island Juvenile Detention Center, and spending a year on a fellowship running an English Teachers Volunteer program serving socioeconomically disadvantaged youths in Brazil. As part of her training as graduate student, Aïcha has been providing mental health services at various institutions that serve low-income ethnic minority patients. As a researcher, Aïcha has been conducting studies involving disadvantaged ethnic minority populations. As a scholar, psychologist, and activist Aïcha intends to dedicate her career to working with vulnerable and at-risk youths.

The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the disproportionate tendency to use zero-tolerance policies and police presence in schools attended predominantly by Black youths. This has resulted in increased rates of expulsion, suspension, and arrest being made in schools. The systematic removal of a significant number of Black youths from public education, onto a one-way path toward prison, has lead The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to regard the school-to-prison pipeline as one of the most urgent challenges in education today. To address this issue, the proposed project will consist of a one-year scientific research study on the psychosocial impact of the school-to-prison pipeline. Study findings will then inform a small-scale documentary film on the topic. The goal of this two-phased project is to raise the type of public awareness and outcry necessary to generate legislative changes in the U.S. educational and justice systems. 

The U.S. educational system is unique in that it assigns school safety and student disciplining to the police. Today nearly half of public schools have assigned police officers. Police presence is more likely to be implemented in underfunded schools attended predominantly by ethnic minority youths. Scholars have suggested that police presence in schools has led to the criminalization of behavior that is often normative among youths. There is no report that police presence in schools has resulted in decreased rates of infraction or increased security. Yet each year there are approximately 30,000 school-based student arrests in public schools nationwide. Black students are three times more likely to be arrested than White students, this despite similar rates of infractions. Research indicates that, following arrest, Black youths are more likely than White youths to 1) have their infractions reported to the police, 2) get detained in police precincts or jail, 3) go to court, 4) be tried as adults rather than in juvenile court, and 4) get harsher sentences. Racial discrimination of this scale is likely to lead to the development of serious psychosocial problems among Black youths. The proposed project intends to both examine and raise awareness about this large-scale problem.  

The first phase of the project will consist in a doctoral thesis (dissertation) based on a research study on the psychosocial impact of the school-to-prison pipeline. Data will be gathered using qualitative methods consisting of in-depth interviews and focus groups with Black youths who have been involved in the school-to-prison pipeline. Participants will be recruited among various institutions that serve at-risk youths. Study findings will be disseminated via 1) journal articles, 2) a book on the topic, and 3) presentations done by study participants in their own communities. The second phase of the project will consist in disseminating the study findings among the larger public, this in order to raise global public awareness and ensuing legislative changes. This will be achieved through a small-scale documentary film on youths and families that have been impacted by the school-to-prison pipeline. Various scholars who have studied this topic will also be featured in the documentary. The goal of the documentary will be to share scientific findings and knowledge in ways accessible to the general public. The documentary will be disseminated via submissions to film festivals and TV channels in the U.S. and around the world.

An estimated 2.1 million youths are arrested each year in the U.S. Among those, approximately 200,000 enter the adult criminal justice system and, on any given day, 10,000 youths are incarcerated in prisons and jails. Black youths are overrepresented within the U.S. justice and correctional systems. The latter make 16% of all youths in the general population, but 30% of juvenile court referrals, 38% of youth in residential placement, and 58% percent of youth admitted to state adult prison. Hence, the proposed project is part of a larger movement for social change that calls for the abolition of racial bias in the U.S. educational and justice systems, through effective legislative changes and reforms. Relatedly, the proposed project will include participatory research elements, such as taking a political and activist stance when disseminating study findings as well as generating empowerment by inviting participants to take an active role in the process and outcomes of the project. Conducting focus groups with small groups of youths will achieve this aim. Disseminating study findings not only within academia but also among the general public and participants' own communities has the potential to generate the type of large-scale public awareness necessary for social change.

Teaching social-justice-oriented workshops at Rikers Island was a heartbreaking experience. Many incarcerated youths were spending months behind bars for minor, victimless offenses. Many expressed that, in their community, going to jail was more the norm than graduating from high school, let alone going to college. Many also reported that going to jail for a prolonged period meant dropping out of high school. For those who were to be tried as adults, having a criminal record meant reduced life opportunities. Also shocking was the fact that, among about a hundred youth inmates, none was White. Subsequently, research I came across during my studies of racial issues in the U.S. pointed to striking levels of racial discrimination within the educational and justice systems. Upon realizing that many people are unaware of the extent of this problem, I decided to complete a dissertation and publish journal articles on this topic. The idea about the documentary came from a frustration that important scientific findings are often not disseminated among the general public. Given that I have connections in the independent film industry, a documentary would be the best medium to raise awareness among a maximum of people in the U.S. and around the world.

Being of African descent myself, I have always been particularly sensitive to the plight of my fellow people. I am the daughter of a West African political refugee who fled a dictatorship and ended up in Switzerland, where he met my mother, a Swiss farmer's daughter whose parents had never seen a Black person before my father. Growing up in a family where discussions on multiculturalism were commonplace, I developed a keen interest in racial and social justice issues. By the time I was a young adult, travelling to Africa, Asia, Latin America, the U.S., and throughout Europe gave me the opportunity to interact with diverse ethnic groups and immerse myself in various sociocultural contexts. The adverse social conditions I observed in resource-poor areas made me sensitive to social inequalities and how these impact mental health among disadvantaged minority populations. I also became interested in how sociocultural factors influence psychosocial development and mental health, which eventually led me to a doctoral program were I study and conduct research on racial and immigrant issues. As a scholar, I consider racial discrimination in the U.S. educational and justice systems as one of the most urgent issues I would like to help solve.

As a 5th-year graduate student I have extensive experience in conducting rigorous scientific research. I have designed, implemented, and completed several independent research projects, starting with an honors thesis when I was an undergraduate student at Columbia University. Most of the study projects I have conducted or been involved in involved working with disadvantaged or underrepresented ethnic minority youths and their families. As a qualitative researcher, I am well trained in recruiting, interviewing, and conducting focus groups with at-risk populations. Additionally, I have published several manuscripts on multicultural topics and qualitative research, including a book chapter on qualitative methods and one on family trauma among underrepresented ethnic minority populations. As a scholar, I have access to a large network of other scholars in my field, including a mentor who will advise and supervise me throughout the dissertation and publication process. In regard to the documentary, I plan to collaborate with a small but highly qualified film crew consisting of a director, assistant director, director of photography, sound mixer, composer, and editor. The director will be responsible for submitting the documentary to film festivals and TV channels.

While working as a therapist at the Family Institute at the Mount Sinai Hospital Psychiatric Department, I had a Black patient who was arrested at a middle-school camp for bringing a pocketknife. Although he never took the knife out of his bag and had intended to use it to cut wood to make a fire, he faced disciplinary actions including out-of-school suspension and being sent to family court. The patient was intellectually gifted and had received a scholarship to attend a specialized high school. Having an infraction referred to as "bringing a weapon on school ground," as stated on his school record, would mean that he would lose his scholarship and opportunities for high quality education. As a psychologist-activist, I decided to step outside of my role strictly as a therapist and, with the patient's mother, collaborated with a lawyer who offered free legal services to help solve this types of situation. In the end, the patient's school record was expunged and he could move on with his life. We also spent several sessions discussing the school-to-prison pipeline, and the patient did a presentation on the topic at his afterschool program.

Upon graduating from college, I was awarded the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award, a fellowship that allowed me to spend one year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I put together and managed an English teachers volunteer program for youths living in a disadvantaged urban area (i.e., favela). This was a challenging project, as the program was located in an area were armed members of drug cartels were operating. This required that I became familiar with the community in which I was implementing the program. Part of my work there involved getting acquainted with the youths' families, as well as making myself known to the leaders of the drug cartels so that they would let the volunteers I recruited into the favela. I then trained a group of volunteers to teach English in non-conventional classrooms (e.g., children of different ages). My leadership responsibilities also involved preparing volunteers to working in an extremely poor and disadvantaged community, where people are often wary of outsiders. Despite being challenging, the project was an absolute success and had a positive impact on the community it was intended to serve.