We used a qualitative case study approach to examine the schooling experiences of 40 current high school seniors and 20 alumni from an urban STEAM career academy comprised of 98% African American students from low-income families. Using tracking as a theoretical lens, we found that students in the high school STEAM career academy were stratified using a more modern, dual system approach - and were labeled as traditional and college preparatory. These schooling practices led to the traditional tracked students being treated as second class citizens as well as being denied access to high-quality curricula to prepare them to be college and career ready. Based on our findings, we recommend that school personnel customize curricula based on the interests of students and enable them all to participate in college preparatory activities as well as work-based learning experiences. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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