This study examines school leaders' implementation of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and school district administration. Using interviews with school leaders and drawing on a structure-agency perspective, the research highlights the interplay between school leader decision-making, union power, and…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southern California K-12 school districts and understand what district and site administrators have learned from their experiences and their decision-making responsibilities in managing the crisis. This study has brought to light the impact of the pandemic on students,…

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the perceived impact of Patterson's (2003) 7 servant leadership constructs on high school principals in establishing a culture of high performance. Methodology: The qualitative phenomenological method was decided by 8 thematic researchers to study the high school…

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the perceived impact of Patterson's (2003) 7 servant leadership constructs on high school principals in establishing a culture of high performance. Methodology: The qualitative phenomenological study described the lived experiences of high school principals who lead…

Student success is dependent on teacher quality; therefore, it is imperative that principals hire the teachers most likely to experience success as measured by the impact on student outcomes. This study investigated teacher hiring processes to determine the extent to which practices that are supported by selection science and teacher quality…

For several years, WestEd's Measure to Learn and Improve (MLI) project team has kept California state policy leaders informed about the statewide implementation of the California Academic Standards in English language arts and mathematics, by summarizing and disseminating results from the RAND Corporation's annual American Educator Panel (AEP)…

Though culturally relevant educational leadership has been practiced for more than 20 years, marginalized students from culturally diverse communities continue to be underserved. Additionally, other educational programs outside of traditional K-12 school environments are far less likely to have educational administrators who have any experience or…

We are experiencing powerful and exponential shifts in our economy (Schwab, 2015), marked by rapid advancements in automation, information technology, and robotics (Ford, 2016) and the displacement of millions of Americans in the middle class (Goldin & Katz, 2008; Keeley, 2015; Pew Research Center, 2015). Our current education paradigm is…

Research shows that effective teachers are one of the most important in-school contributors to student learning. To improve low-income minority students' access to effective teaching, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching (IP) initiative in the 2009-2010 school year. The program was…

In 2018, The RAND Corporation and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) published an evaluation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching (IP) initiative, which was designed to improve achievement among low-income minority (LIM) students. The initiative provided support for several reforms that…

Purpose: If Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) takes place in a community near school property, maintaining a school environment conducive to learning can be difficult. This article examines (a) how a school leader and personnel perceived the impact that ICE activity in their community had on students and families and (b) whether school…

This case study focuses on a 2008 incident where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vans appeared near a K-5 elementary school. It was the first time school personnel experienced the impact of federal immigration agents policing illegality in their school community, and the event set off a chain of decision-making choices as to how…

Strong and stable school leadership is critical for success in schools across the nation. The duties of the principal are many and varied. Principals, for example, can oversee instruction, purchase curricular materials and supplies, and provide professional learning and supports for teachers. Carrying out these duties effectively makes a…

Do teacher leaders in your school mainly fill the traditional roles of department chair or grade-level representative? Or do they lead their peers in collaborative teams whose primary focus is improving student learning? Terry Wilhelm, director of the School Leadership Center for Riverside County Office of Education in California, says that…

Research suggests effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance teacher collaboration and student achievement. Within-school variation in PLC processes, however, is underexplored. This study highlights differences in teacher behavior and teams' perceptions of principal leadership in well-functioning teams versus less well-functioning…