The unprecedented challenges of teaching during COVID-19 prompted fears of a mass exodus from the profession. We examine the extent to which these fears were realized using administrative records of Massachusetts teachers between 2015-2016 and 2021-2022. Relative to prepandemic levels, average turnover rates were similar going into the fall of…

This qualitative analysis examines an authentic understanding of what it takes to become a superintendent of color in the state of Massachusetts. It examines their career experiences on becoming a superintendent and while serving in the role, particularly how race has impacted their leadership as superintendent. This research seeks to know and…

This paper describes the formation and ongoing efforts of a collaborative partnership between students, faculty, and staff within the Chemistry department at Amherst College. Formation of the group was inspired by calls for structural, inclusive, change from students, faculty, and alumni. There are many benefits to collaborating across traditional…

Background: Schools are responsible for promoting LGBTQ+ students' academic success, yet many LGBTQ+ students contend with unsupportive learning environments. Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs)--clubs that affirm students' sexual orientation and gender diversity--could promote academic engagement and protect against disaffection. Aims: We aimed to…

AI offer first-hand account of a key stage in the development of parental choice in American public schooling, when Massachusetts state officials, concerned not to repeat the trauma and disruption resulting from mandatory reassignment of students to achieve desegregation in Boston, persuaded and helped more than a dozen other cities to adopt plans…

Virtually every Black student at Springfield College in the 1960's felt unwelcomed. Not only was there a dearth of Black faculty, but there were also virtually no administrators of color and no support services to address the needs of the dozen Black students on campus. A half-century later, the author observed the racial tumult of 2020 and…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color experience high rates of mental health disorders, yet they experience challenges to accessing mental health services. Community health worker (CHW) models of care have potential to promote equitable mental health services among LGBTQ youth. Our aim was to understand how CHW…

We describe alignment between high school career and technical education (CTE) and local labor markets across five states--Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, and Washington. We find that CTE is partially aligned with local labor markets. A 10-percentage-point higher share of local jobs related to a CTE career cluster is associated with a…

This paper aims to draw lessons from existing research on school leader diversity, and to supplement that evidence with new insights from the lived experiences of teachers, aspiring and practicing school leaders of color, and local and state administrators who oversee school leader recruitment and support. These perspectives are elevated to bring…

This paper examines the long-term impact of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) on postsecondary education outcomes, with a focus on historically underserved students. MERA aimed to improve educational standards and close achievement gaps through the introduction of MCAS,…

This article provides an ethnographic accounting of one teacher of color's experience of moral injury by exploring the question: what morally injurious events does Nancy experience, and what are the costs of those injuries? This project used participant observations and interviews to explore the moral injuries encountered. Moral injuries occurred…

Thirteen New England colleges and universities have signed on to New England Board of Higher Education's (NEBHE's) new North Star Collective (NSC), a multi-institutional collaborative to boost Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) early-career faculty at New England colleges and universities. Built on a Reparative Justice Framework, NEBHE…

The heightened use of "safe space" in educational settings has been the subject of polarizing contemporary controversy and protested by conservative and progressive camps alike, raising concerns about whether "safe space" remains an educationally viable concept. In response to claims that safety is conflated with…

Asthma morbidity disproportionately impacts children from low-income and racial/ethnic minority communities. School-supervised asthma therapy improves asthma outcomes for up to 15 months for underrepresented minority children, but little is known about whether these benefits are sustained over time. We examined the frequency of emergency…

In this article, we consider the intersection of experiential learning and equity work through the lens of a 10-week project: "Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard" (L2BB), undertaken in collaboration with a group of six high school seniors at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, in the spring of 2022. L2BB was part of a…