This qualitative study of an urban high school draws on critical race theory's tenet of whiteness as property and the notion that educational opportunity is a race-conscious construct to interrogate the impacts of school improvement work intended to increase educational opportunities for students of colour. Educational opportunity is defined as…

This paper examines the experiences of 18 teachers in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic to address two questions: (1) What do teaching conditions look like during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) How have educators adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic? This research offers a snapshot of the varied delivery models, safety and mitigation practices,…

Background: This study addresses the nexus of two significant yet under-researched areas of instructional leadership: the role of central office administrators in developing principals as instructional leaders and the potential for the instructional leadership team (ILT) to serve as a structure for supporting administrators and teachers in working…

Research on teacher professional learning communities (PLCs) has found that part of their benefit comes from increased collegiality. And yet, while the nature of such collegiality is theoretically multifaceted and includes a combination of instrumental, expressive and substantive relationships, this multidimensional nature of PLCs is almost never…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among collective efficacy factors, as measured by the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, and college readiness scores, as reported by American College Testing (ACT), for high schools in the state of Illinois. The 5Essentials have been considered crucial to school success and therefore used to…

This study examines how an urban, California high school supports undocumented students' college access and the challenges the school and students encounter. Employing case study methodology, school observations and interviews with 14 undocumented students and 13 educators were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the processes involved in…

Purpose: This study analyzed leadership structures, processes, and practices that have enabled and constrained an ambitious career and college readiness reform within an urban school district. It was designed to discern how leaders worked across cross-sector boundaries to support district-wide high school career academy implementation. Research…

Ever since the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (1983), and in particular over the last 15 years with the implementation of federal policies such as the No Child Left Behind Act [NCLB] (2002) and its successor, Every Student Succeeds Act (2017), the spotlight on how failing schools support our neediest and most marginalized students has…

Purpose: This qualitative research study examines classroom observations and transcripts, teacher and student interviews and student writing to investigate how white English teachers can cultivate students' critical literacies regarding race and oppression through classroom literature. As research and practice in the field of critical literacy has…

If money matters, then school systems need to allocate it equitably among districts, schools, and individual students. Whether money is allocated equitably among students within the same school remains largely unknown. To date, a number of studies have analyzed the allocation of educational funding at either the district or the school level, but…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine dual credit policy and what barriers Indiana high schools have in offering dual credit courses. The goal of this study was to answer one grand tour question--What barriers exist for Indiana high school students regarding dual credit availability? Three sub-questions supported this grand…

As American public education becomes increasingly technology-based, multiple new data sources become accessible for educators to better understand student learning processes. Novel data analysis applications became necessary during severe disruptions due to the COVID pandemic. This case study highlights a novel method for identifying high school…

Purpose: This paper explores how leaders of new public high schools -- one charter and two innovation schools -- navigated the journey from school-in-theory to school-in-practice during the school's first three years. School leaders at charter and innovation schools have increased freedom over curriculum, budget, scheduling and personnel when…

Equitable access to a quality music education for all students and healthy music class enrollment continue to be prominent goals for music teachers and advocates. While 92% of Ohio public secondary schools offer at least one music class, fewer than half of all students actually enroll. Past literature on equitable access to and enrollment in music…

Background: Mental health services in the United States public schools are an important component of the academic success of a student. Not all schools, however, have the necessary personnel and funding to offer such services. Methods: In this paper, we provide an analysis of data collected from schools in 3 geographic locations. Comparisons were…