The late rapper Tupac Shakur wrote a poem called "The Rose that Grew from Concrete" that serves as a good metaphor for helping educators, including school librarians, to disrupt stereotypical metanarratives they might have about urban youth and replace them with new narratives of hope, compassion, and high expectations for all students. Tupac's…

Nearly 100 school counselors and teachers convened in October 2015 at the picturesque Tsébii'nidzisgai Elementary School in Monument Valley, Utah, for a "Four Corners Counseling Connection" conference designed to enhance their knowledge and understanding of American Indian history and culture, help them develop skills to support and…

Linda MacDonell is the assistant superintendent of the Instructional Services Division of the Orange County (California) Department of Education and over the years, Delores Lindsey served as MacDonell's leadership coach. In this article, they talk about their experiences as external/internal partners building internal capacity for culturally…

Meeting the unique and diverse needs of students challenges educators daily. And, the demand for improvement increases at the same pace. Enormous efforts are underway in school systems and state agencies across the country to design and implement multiple, high-stakes changes in educator effectiveness systems, college- and career-ready standards,…

Counselors frequently use storytelling as a therapeutic technique. Stories allow people to find meaning and form connections by expressing the thoughts and feelings that are sometimes difficult to articulate. The film, "Dreamkeeper," presents a series of American Indian legends woven throughout the main story of a journey undertaken by a young man…

This article considers the story of 3-year-old Mia and her mother's request that teachers keep Mia away from messy projects. It offers an opportunity to apply the Code, with a special emphasis on its 2011 reaffirmation and update. This revision has sharpened the focus on the importance of nurturing two-way communication between teachers/caregivers…

Statistics show that two thirds of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) live outside of tribal areas, and 50% of those individuals who seek counseling services will not use tribal resources. There is a strong likelihood that counselors will have the opportunity to provide services to AI/AN clients. The review of the academic literature…

There are an estimated three million Arab Americans in the United States, with 25% of the population under the age of 18. Given this significant population, it is likely that some school psychologists come across children from Arab backgrounds during their career. Many school psychologists, however, may not be aware of the unique cultural…

Culture plays a critical role in the most effective middle schools (NMSA, 2010), and the Education Department at University of North Carolina at Charlotte considers transnational children of immigration to be a great wealth, a rich blessing. This Department works tirelessly to equip today's middle grades teachers to serve this group of…

Parental involvement and parent-school-community partnerships receive wide acclaim for making a positive difference in the educational and transition outcomes for youth with and without disabilities. Although the impact of parental involvement in education remains undisputed, secondary education traditionally emphasizes the emerging adult…

Exclusionary policies are practiced widely in schools despite being associated with extremely poor outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students, particularly African American males with and without disabilities. This article discusses zero tolerance policies, the related research questioning their basic assumptions, and the negative…

The authors have learned that using image-based methods to "ask" young adolescents about their relationships to school--instead of only "telling" them about school's importance--helps them to appreciate the writing tasks in which the authors ask them to engage. In this article, the authors discuss the positive effects these photo elicitation…

Colleges and universities face the challenge of fostering a learning environment for students who lack self-awareness, have little experience with higher level thinking, approach learning as passive recipients, and experience the traditional college academic environment as foreign to their lifestyle. College and university administrators as well…

The "need for global exchange" for research is apparent in all areas of study, both because of the global interchange of commerce and the improvements that can be accomplished worldwide as people learn from one another. The globalization of higher education includes cross-cultural research projects often conducted by teams from many countries and…

The number of refugees and asylum seekers admitted to the United States has grown, with significant numbers arriving from sub-Saharan Africa. Given this reality, it is important that mental health professionals are equipped to provide culturally relevant services. This article describes the development and implementation of a group treatment model…