“Set up to fail”: Institutional Racism and the Sabotage of School Improvement

Data from two previous studies are reanalyzed using the lens of institutional racism to examine district decisions that undermined, or sabotaged, improvement efforts at schools attended by students of color. Opportunities to rectify the sabotage were available but not pursued. A model portrays the interaction between decision-maker intent, institutional racism, and the sabotage of school improvement. According to the model, institutional racism can be operative or inoperative. When institutional racism is operative, sabotage of improvement efforts occurs.