Background: Universal masking, with additional layered prevention strategies, was an essential tool for limiting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and ensuring a safe return to in-person learning for kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) students and staff. Few studies have examined mask adherence in this setting and none have described types of…

We compare the institutional standards and expectations for English language arts (ELA) educators from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the leading professional organization in this field, and the state of Georgia. By conducting a critical policy analysis of documents from NCTE and the Georgia Department of Education (GADoE) we…

The world is confronted with wicked environmental problems that cannot be well understood or acted upon without addressing their ethical dimensions. Research shows that official science curricula on environmental science and ecology topics are shaped by the scientific discourse and environmental discourses of "ecological modernization"…

Millions of immigrants reside in the United States without legal authorisation to do so. This paper examines the educational opportunities available to those brought to the country illegally as children. While the 1982 landmark Supreme Court decision in "Plyler v. Doe" protects access to K-12 education, in the past 25 years, legislation…

There is empirical evidence of substantial heterogeneity in economic mobility across geographic areas and the efficacy of schools has been suggested as an explanatory factor. Using administrative microdata from seven states covering nearly 3 million students, we explore the potential role of schools in promoting economic mobility by estimating…

Even as the nation's 5 million English Learners (ELs) make up one in ten students enrolled in public K-12 education, federal funding has not kept up with their population growth. The result is a long-standing lack of equitable and adequate federal funding to support ELs' language development and help them thrive academically. When the COVID-19…

Despite the increasing number of U.S. born Latinos, placing heritage and native speakers in the Spanish curriculum is still a challenge (MacGregor-Mendoza & Moreno, 2020). The present article: (1) addresses the unique needs of heritage speakers in the Spanish curriculum; (2) problematizes traditional grammar-based placement exams; and (3)…

This mixed-methods study sought to examine teacher education candidates' practice-based field experiences and relationships with a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and an urban P-12 school. As informed by the Networked Improvement Community (NIC) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) conceptual frameworks, the three phases of data…

This paper examines how two language educators of color developed critical multilingual language awareness (CMLA) in a combined youth participatory action research and teacher education program. Specifically, as a multilingual and diverse group of educators, we chose to use Latin@/o Critical Theory (LatCrit) as our methodology to align with the…