School district boundaries define more than just the area where a certain group of children attends a given set of schools. They also determine the taxing jurisdiction that supports those schools with local property taxes. Big differences in property value can lead to large funding gaps, even between neighboring districts. These disparities in…

Policies and programs intended to increase the racial diversity of the US teaching population have failed to make meaningful inroads in an overwhelmingly white profession despite extensive research demonstrating the need for more teachers of color. This article explores teacher diversity efforts in one non-urban district through a qualitative case…

Given the historical trend in segregation across New York State that is profoundly and systematically rooted within the fabric of the state's education system, it is no surprise the education system had been viewed as having two separate systems, for example, Title I versus non-Title I. For non-Title I districts/schools, the average graduation…

Educational research has established a link between zero tolerance disciplinary policies and increases in racial disproportionality in suspensions and expulsions of students of color. This article reports on a critical ethnography of Rivertown, a school district with urban characteristics, where we have been working with parents of color whose…

Disparities in academic performance have been found in students from underserved districts. This is especially prevalent in students with disabilities. Technology use can help to narrow this divide. Mainstream software packages are readily available to most districts and increasingly include accessibility features (AF) to enable students to…

Homeschoolers--and their motivations--are increasingly diverse. A number of innovations, such as online schools, microschools, co-ops, and support centers, are enabling this diversity. Though frequently left out of the conversation about education, the homeschooling movement has much to teach us about creating more customized and effective school…

There is ongoing debate in the United States about just how diverse, inclusive, and equitable the opt-out movement--and grassroots education activism more broadly--has been over the past decade. Today, a prevailing stereotype holds that the opt-out movement predominantly mobilizes white, middle-class, and suburban parents and is therefore a force…

Classroom teachers struggle to meet the needs of all students as the United States population continues to become more diverse. While preservice teacher training programs strive to provide teachers with the knowledge and skills to complete this task effectively, opportunity gaps between minority students and their peers continue to grow. Through…

In this report, the authors examine the many ways Black and Latino students are locked out of the advanced coursework opportunities that can set them up for success in college and careers. Herein, they paint a picture at both national and state levels of how these students are denied access to meaningful advanced coursework opportunities, from…

Build for Equity supports proficiency of educational leaders to recruit, hire, develop and retain quality teaching candidates, building and system leaders from historically marginalized populations. National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) conducted a months-long study on how to diversify the teacher workforce. This study, sponsored…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

More than 60 years after the ruling in "Brown v. Board of Education" was handed down, its promise remains unfulfilled. In many respects, America's public schools continue to be "separate and unequal." Indeed, the growing re-segregation of American schools by race and ethnicity, compounded by economic class segregation, has…

Scholars typically frame the subgroup problem in education in terms of protecting religious minorities from majoritarian encroachment. This essay explores a different aspect of the subgroup problem: what happens when an antidemocratic religious minority becomes a local majority responsible for the promotion of the public good? This essay uses the…

School and neighborhood segregation are recognized as pernicious and persistent problems across the United States, originally developed through intentional government policies, and perpetuated today by both public policy and private markets that have adapted to segregated systems of housing, education, and transportation. Housing and school…

While new teachers bring energy and passion into their classrooms and schools, they can find themselves incredibly challenged as they learn how to plan and implement lessons, collect, and use data to inform their instructional practices, build relationships with students and families, manage classroom behavior, and meet the varying academic,…