This study addressed the academic, cultural, and social expectations and experiences of 20 Black students at 2 predominantly White high schools in the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. The participants' experiences revealed how institutional practices promoted or obstructed their successful experiences at high school. Qualitative ethnographic methodology guided the study. The data collected included the stories of the Black students based on individual interviews, focus groups, and document reviews. The data showed the positive and negative experiences of the Black students in predominantly White high schools and the negative impacts of racism and racist behaviors on Black students' experiences at their high schools. Findings indicate a difference between the students' academic, cultural, and social expectations and experiences. Many of these differences in expectations and actual experiences were caused by the racist experiences of the Black students. Social networks were shown to contribute to the students' need for a place of safety. Recommendations based on the results of the study are provided for school administration, teachers, and other staff members.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Black teachers regarding their decision to teach and the satisfaction with their work experiences in predominantly White K-12 schools. A total of 118 teachers who were identified as Black and as employees of a predominantly White school were invited to complete a survey via email. A total of 56 did in fact respond. Of that 56, only 51 respondents provided enough usable data (which is defined as a survey completed in full). The data, which came from a Perceptions Survey, meant to report levels of job satisfaction as it relates to perceptions of work experiences. The primary research question was: What are the perceptions of Black teachers regarding their satisfaction with their work experiences in predominantly White K-12 schools? The subsequent sub-question was: How do those work experiences impact Black teachers’ decision to continue teaching, be promoted from teaching, or recommend a career in teaching to other Black people? The independent or predictor variables were: spirituality, cultural acceptance, interracial relationships, intra-racial relationships, mentoring, and advancement opportunities. The dependent variable was: job satisfaction. A bivariate correlation analysis was used to determine if the predictor variables should be grouped as components using their variance scores. The variance scores did indeed indicate the need to group the predictor variables as components. Those components were named as relationships, oppression, and mindset. The component named oppression had a significant correlation with job satisfaction. Overall the findings indicated that a large percent of Black teachers in predominantly White schools are not satisfied with their job. Further research about the job satisfaction of Black teachers is recommended because of the growing need to recruit and keep Black teachers in our schools.