Joanne W. Golann - Scripting the Moves: Culture and Control in a No-Excuses Charter School

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WRITING A BOOK is a long and winding process. I am indebted to the community of scholars, educators, and friends who have supported me along the way and contributed valuable insights to this project. Here I name but a few.

This book began at Princeton University, under the guidance of Mitchell Duneier. He took a recovering demographer under his wing and turned me into an ethnographer. His lessons to seek variation, to humanize subjects, and to connect the micro and macro are at the heart of good ethnography and good research. I also thank Paul DiMaggio for his prompt and detailed feedback; Sara McLanahan for her support of my ideas and changing directions; and Thomas Espenshade for his mentorship, collaboration, and friendship through the years.

That was the beginning. My Dropbox folder of chapter files, each marked with a revision date, tells the longer story. It was at a school of education where new ideas for the book took shape. Working at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University opened my sociological eyes to new questions of education policy and educational inequity that have informed and enriched the book. My department has been a warm and welcoming place to transition to faculty life and to write this book. Christopher Loss has been a champion mentor whose advice has always been sound and whose support has been constant. Ellen Goldring as department chair helped me navigate my time and commitments. My wonderful junior colleagues, Adela Soliz, Christopher Candelaria, and Matthew Shaw, were with me in the trenches and continue to be dear colleagues and friends.

I am thankful for all those who read and reread chapters of the book (and sometimes the whole book) and provided feedback. First on the list is Annette Lareau, whose generosity to a practical stranger has extended from an initial lunch meeting to line-by-line feedback (twice) on the book manuscript. I had a dream team of school ethnographersMaia Cucchiara, Amanda Lewis, and Edward Morriswho took the time to attend my book workshop and help me brainstorm next steps. (I wont forget Amandas frightful words at the time that the book could be twice as long!) I also thank Jennifer Jennings, Karen Kozlowski, Mira Debs, David Diehl, Claire Smrekar, Chris Torres, LaTonya Trotter, Rebeca Gamez, Katerina Bodovski, Jennifer Nelson, Jennifer Darling-Aduana, Walter Ecton, Anthony Jack, Jessi Streib, and Shana Starobin for reading drafts and helping to refine arguments.

A special word of thanks goes to my working group, Erin Johnston and Victoria Reyes, who have provided support, ideas, and encouragement every step of the way. Lauren Senesac is hands down the best scholars sidekick. Her editorial eye, research assistance, and sense of humor have shaped and strengthened the book. Eunice Koo and Kathryn Li have been kind friends to ask me about the book through the years and listen to my updates.

This book has benefitted from the research assistance of a cadre of bright students at Vanderbilt University, including Richard Hall, Kara Mitchell, Taqiyyah Elliott, Ashley Jones, Anna Weiss, Erin Smith, Lauren Covelli, Margaux Cameron, Taylor Seale, Shihe Luan, Ana Delgado, Jenny Gao, and Alexandra Vierling. Sarah Soliz also provided editorial assistance. Research for this book was funded by the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship and Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.

I am most fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Princeton University Press. Many thanks go to my editor Meagan Levinson for taking on this project and sticking with it. I am grateful for the careful work of the staff in bringing my book to production, including copyeditor Joseph Dahm, production editor Jenny Wolkowicki, and editorial associate Jacqueline Delaney.

Portions of were previously published in two of my articles, The Paradox of Success at a No-Excuses School, Sociology of Education 88, no. 2 (April 1, 2015): 10319 and Conformers, Adaptors, Imitators, and Rejecters: How No-Excuses Teachers Cultural Toolkits Shape Their Responses to Control, Sociology of Education 91, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 2845. They appear by permission of SAGE Publishing.

There would have been no book if Dream Academys students, staff, and families had not welcomed me into the school and been willing to share about their experiences. They allowed me to be a part of their world, and I am appreciative of the kindness and assistance extended to me during my time at the school.

I owe much to my parents and brother, whose love and confidence in me gave me a firm foundation from which to grow. I also owe much to my husband, David, who has supported me on this long and winding journey. He also painstakingly edited the final manuscript. Finally, to my children, Matthew and Catherine, this book is not nearly as exciting as Harry Potter, but it is your moms first book. I am glad to be finished.

SCRIPTING THE MOVES