Montessori instructional approach closely aligns with The Science of Reading. Standardized test scores and student background data from statewide data sets were reviewed to produce empirical evidence that students instructed in reading in schools using Montessori methods and curriculum achieve results significantly higher than the state average…

Arizona has played a large part in the development and implementation of policy that directly inhibits equity of opportunity for the English learner (EL) population, the largest and most damaging of which came out of legislation passed due to the "Flores v. Arizona" case which concluded in 2015. This research article seeks to critically…

This article examines the re-professionalization of teaching across a transformative decade of market-based and standards-based reforms in the U.S.A. The first section works with the sociological concept of the 'new professionalism' to situate the No Child Left Behind act, Race to the Top, and CAEP accreditation within a broader movement to align…

States use their accountability systems to identify low-performing schools, which can receive added support and are expected to improve. Alternative schools serve students whose needs are not met in a regular school. They often serve at-risk students who are struggling academically or behaviorally. Given this unique population, the Government…

In spring 2019, without controversy or fanfare and without violating the voter mandate of Proposition 203, emergent bilinguals in Arizona were once again granted unrestricted access to dual language bilingual education after nearly 20 years. The policy change was accomplished through a seemingly small piece of legislation that reduced the daily…

When the nation shut down in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, states had to figure out what education would look like for the remainder of the academic year. These abrupt changes affected not only students' ability to learn but also their access to the support system that would help prepare them for steps beyond high school. This Policy…

This brief illustrates how digital learning opportunities and technology can significantly increase access to high-quality learning materials, curricula, and effective online learning tools to help youth in secure care settings develop expertise in shaping personalized learning and future goals. The brief also offers takeaways that practitioners,…

The authors evaluate the success of Arizona's program for English Learners (ELs) twelve years after the implementation of Proposition 203 to determine whether it meets the "third prong" test of Castañeda v. Pickard (1981), which requires a demonstration of the effectiveness of a program after its implementation. This study is a follow-up…

Career and technical education (CTE) programs are increasingly engaging a broad range of stakeholders, including parents and community organizations, to improve CTE programs, better serve students and help communities in need. This resource will focus on ways that CTE educators can communicate with, collaborate with and support current and…

This article explores the discourse practices of an Indigenous, community-based charter school and its efforts to create space for Indigenous both/and identities across rural-urban divides. The ethnographic portrait of Urban Native Middle School (UNMS) analyzes the discourse of making "a space for you", which brings together rural and…

This qualitative study examines Chicanx students' accounts of teachers' (in)activity in classrooms regarding issues of racism and whiteness. Contextualised within the study of Arizona's anti-immigration law SB 1070, it draws from individual interviews, focus groups, and observational field notes to describe students' emotional responses to…

This correlation study examined relationships between special education and standardized testing variables of 100 Arizona secondary school districts with Native American populations, and the archival records for postsecondary outcomes between 2012 and 2014 of students with disabilities, using archival data collected by the Arizona Department of…

Community colleges and businesses have a shared interest in preparing students and existing workers to be successful in their careers. Community colleges seek to educate and train individuals in their community to have the knowledge and skills for current jobs and long-term career opportunities. Employers seek employees with both job-specific…

Drawing on the traditions of critical pedagogy from Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux to recent critical research developed in the "Journal of Pedagogy," this study explores how a particular case of curriculum reform in the US is entangled with racial neoliberalism and paranoia.

As schools across Arizona worked to meet NCLB's AYP requirement in 2010-2011, they were also labeled and sanctioned by AZ Learns. This phenomenological study focused on six effective high school principals in two Arizona school districts to ascertain how accountability policies impacted the principals' job responsibilities, autonomy, and ability…