This qualitative study examines definitions of school gardening used by preschool educators and examines their views on the value of school gardening in their curriculum. The participants consisted of school principals and teachers working in two different types of preschools as traditional and nature-based. Data were obtained through…

This study provides a historical analysis of the Chicago Public Schools major reform policies and initiatives and their implications for educational leaders and principals in urban areas during the mayoral term of Rahm Emanuel. This analysis includes detailed reform initiatives implemented under several mayors and CEOs leading up to Mayor Rahm…

Purpose: This study builds on research scrutinizing school autonomy in policy and school governance by shifting the focus from a formal structural view of autonomy to examining how principals negotiate autonomy in their daily work. Drawing on multiple dimensions of autonomy and street-level bureaucracy, this study examined how principals, as both…

Insofar as urban school systems that are often identified as ineffective include such a large segment of U.S. P-12 students, it is vital to improve academic success. To provide context, the article first discusses key challenges facing urban schools. Second, the article identifies and briefly reviews a variety of approaches to reform models often…

This case centers on a Black woman school administrator and efforts to disrupt Whiteness among an urban elementary school teaching staff. The case details the resistance she encounters while encouraging teachers to confront "White fragility" and consider how their fragile perspectives on race and racism shape how they educate Black…

School absenteeism and truancy confront educators on a daily basis. While public school districts in the U.S. experience daily rates of absenteeism, in the Los Angeles Unified school District (LAUSD), over 26,000 students miss school each day, totaling over 130,500 student absences each week. Regardless of whether these absences are excused (e.g.,…

The present study examined teacher attitudes, teacher preparation/training, teacher experience, and school support and their relationship to reported family involvement behaviors, using the Epstein framework as a six part definition for family involvement. Participants included 283 teachers in 20 different special education preschool programs…