Racial disproportionality in school discipline is an enduring systemic problem. This study is based on a collaboration with 14 school stakeholders: American Indian students, parents, community members, and educators at a high school in a community-driven problem-solving process called Indigenous Learning Lab (ILL). ILL members addressed the root…

District-led Professional Development (DLPD) holds great promise for cost-effective and sustained PD for K-12 faculty but is often enacted as whole-group, one-shot meetings on topics (e.g., 21st-century learning) non-specific to teachers' grade levels and content areas. Alternatively, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) provide on-site and…

Over the past two decades homeschooling has become increasingly popular, but this educational alternative has lacked rigorous empirical evaluation because of data limitations. Since little data are available for individual students, we examine homeschooling participation at the statewide and district level in Wisconsin. The most compelling finding…

We explored how various contextual resources accumulated over multiple years operated together to facilitate a team of high school teachers' sustained and agentive learning after a 4-year research-practice partnership (RPP) grant concluded. Specifically, we examined constellations of resources that promoted the co-evolution of the teachers'…

This evaluative case study focused on how organizational changes--specifically a new directional system--affected staff culture in a rural Midwestern school district. This work was theoretically grounded in Owens and Valesky's school climate model. Through observations, interviews, and a review of documents, I determined that the new directional…

This article gives meaning to innovating promising practices in high poverty rural contexts, as experienced by the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP). The project sought to develop a model of shared school-family-community responsibility to support student success in foundational math courses as preparation for science, technology, engineering,…

Research, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations have increasingly had a larger influence in public educational institutions as they support particular programs, practices, and policy reforms. This study investigates the case of local organizations that have initiated and institutionalized high school dropout prediction systems called ninth…

Strong collaborations are critical to successful youth transitions. Preparing students with disabilities for life after high school requires extensive partnerships within and beyond the school. However, transition educators often struggle to meaningfully engage the people and programs that exist within their local community. A community…

This brief examines where STEM deserts were located within Houston Independent School District (HISD) boundaries and the students most likely to live in a STEM desert. STEM deserts are areas in which students have more limited access to STEM endorsement paths or STEM course offerings. The analyses showed STEM deserts were more common in the…

High school student participation in dual enrollment--a key strategy for increasing equitable access to postsecondary education and improving readiness for college--has been on the rise in California in recent years. Despite the overall increase in participation, however, large gaps between racial/ethnic subgroups persist. Also of concern, English…

Education Code section 76002 requires the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to prepare and submit a report each year on the number of special part-time and special full-time full-time equivalent students (FTES) claimed by each community college district for the preceding academic year in each of the following class categories: (1)…

A sense of belonging was linked to academic performance for all students, but it was especially crucial for socially disadvantaged groups like African Americans, who have endured educational discrimination (Boston & Warren, 2017). High school social environments may develop race and culture silos, affecting students' sense of belonging. This…

Sewall County, located in metropolitan Atlanta, and its public school system experienced significant demographic change between 2000 and 2010. The population doubled, reaching more than 200,000 residents, and its percentage of White residents fell by 25% to just more than 55%. Its public school system is now considered majority-minority. Using the…

School engagement is an important factor in academic success and social belonging for postsecondary education. Dually identified students receiving special education and English learner services may face obstacles to engagement. We conducted secondary analyses of the National Longitudinal Transition Study from 2012 to provide a description of high…

Evidence today shows that there is a skills gap among employable young adults. This study was based on a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program evaluation that was conducted in a rural school district in northwest North Carolina. The study examined the perceptions of the program by CTE high school teachers, CTE community college instructors,…