Like many districts across the U.S., Miami-Dade County Public Schools is experiencing a large number of open staff positions due to higher-than-normal numbers of retirements and resignations in the face of COVID-19 coupled with enrollment declines in local universities' education departments. The district, in partnership with New Teacher Center,…

There is scant evidence on the level of arts education available in U.S. public schools and how this has changed over time. In this paper, I present new evidence on broad trends in arts education in U.S. public schools from 1988 through 2018 using nationally representative data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and the National Teachers…

This three-manuscript dissertation used a rapid PDSA to improve teacher efficacy concerning designing and teaching an unleveled 9th grade science class. Leveling and tracking can lead to inequitable outcomes and experiences for minoritized students. However, designing and implementing effective heterogeneous, unleveled classes that meet the needs…

Definitions of teacher experience vary by state and research study. Most states consider a teacher inexperienced if they have between 1-5 years of experience in the classroom as full-time educator. Pennsylvania's 2015 plan identified inexperienced teachers as those with one or less years of teaching experience, but the federal Civil Rights Data…

Chicago Public Schools (CPS)--like many school districts--faces challenges. These include declining enrollment, budgetary pressures, pandemic-associated learning losses, and the need to staff schools with educators and administrators who can meet the diverse needs of students and families. CPS is also grappling with a changing policy environment.…

In our unequal society, families of color fully share the dream of college but their children often attend schools that do not prepare them, and the higher education system gives the best opportunities to the most privileged. Students of color hope for college but often face a dead end. For many young people, racial inequality puts them at a…

Policy makers in California intend to provide free preschool to all 4-year-olds solely within public schools by 2026, becoming the nation's second largest single pre-K program in the United States after Head Start. This initiative builds on the state's existing Transitional Kindergarten (TK) option that has served a modest share of 4-year-olds…

Empirical studies on university choice and access among under-represented racial/ethnic minorities have utilised the concept of school-based social capital (SBSC)--defined by Stanton-Salazar as key resources and support provided by institutional agents (i.e. teachers, counsellors and other staff). They primarily relied upon minority students'…

Many urban public schools are often perceived as inclusive due to the demographics of their diverse student populations. This myth of inclusivity reifies notions of equity in both education and broader society. However, upon closer inspection, this myth of inclusion crumbles once immersed within an urban high school. In this article, I present the…

Some still view arts education as a non-essential extracurricular activity despite its benefits. Even though the Every Student Succeeds Act acknowledges arts education is a healthy and well-rounded subject, local, district, and state administrators still control budget allocation and cuts, which generally affect arts education. There has also been…

This paper focuses on the production of cosmopolitan capital among students participating in the DC Public Schools Study Abroad Programme, an initiative that has been lauded as shifting the narrative of equitable access to global learning. We draw on a framework of Bourdieusian ideas about cultural capital, as well as community cultural wealth…

As part of the federally-funded grant project "SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation--Decline or Evolution?" this study analyzed the status of school librarian employment for almost 13,000 U.S public school districts from 2018-19 and 2020-21. The purpose of the study was to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic, which radically disrupted…

In this article, the first of a two-part presentation, the author advocates for healthy communities, families, and schools, as well as for changes in housing patterns. Part Two will appear in the October 2019 issue of the Record.

Scholarship on the intersection between immigration, legal status, and education has grown over the past decade. Given that schools are intended to be purveyors of democratic values, schools represent an ideal context to examine how immigration and legal status are considered in a community that aims to support the academic and social success of…

U.S. public school students have lost out on considerable mathematics learning since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. Public schools can take many steps to improve mathematics achievement, but to help students who are most at risk, those steps will need to keep equity front and center by focusing…