School discipline is a significant educational policy and equity issue in K-12 education in the United States due to well-documented racial inequality in students' disciplinary outcomes and the deleterious effects of exclusionary discipline on academic and adult outcomes. The roles and approaches of school leaders in the production of racial…

Zero tolerance practices have been a mainstay in the U.S. educational system for decades. Yet, the American Psychological Association (2008) and Skiba and Losen (2015-2016) declared that zero tolerance has had no positive impact on school climate. Further, Skiba (2014) stated that it does not improve student behavior. Restorative practices, on the…

School safety and security strategies is a generic qualitative study that seeks to comprehend school safety and disciplinary strategies through the perspectives and opinions of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the strategies used in secondary inner-city schools to regulate student discipline…

Teachers at all educational levels and disciplines are leaving the profession at a rapid rate across the United States with numbers increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. Retention tools and strategies are critical to the success of a school and school district. The purpose of this single case study was to explore urban high school principals'…

Principals play a critical role in creating safe, inclusive, and equitable schools. Unfortunately, many schools maintain a legacy of exclusionary discipline and racial bias. In such contexts, principals can work collaboratively with school personnel and community members to interrogate existing policies, practices, and outcomes to inform…

Black students with disabilities in Maple Cove School District were three times more likely to lose instructional days due to exclusionary disciplinary action than their peers without disabilities. A qualitative inquiry approach, in the form of a case study was used to determine principals' perspectives about factors that may impact discipline…

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine, understand, and describe the elements of restorative justice programs (relationships, community building, accountability, empathy) that high school principals and teachers in public school districts located in San Bernardino County, California perceive as most beneficial for changing…

This study focused on science and math professional learning communities (PLCs) that were implemented through a university-urban high school partnership. These PLCs were part of mandated school-wide, content-based PLCs implemented as part of the reform efforts initiated in an urban school to address the school's failure to meet Adequate Yearly…

This study uses data from the Programme for International Student Assessment, a large and nationally representative dataset, to examine how learning environments vary across metropolitan, rural and regional schools in Australia. Research has shown that school climate and learning environments are related to student academic performance, but little…

The study examined estimated effects of school mobility on students' academic and behaviouiral outcomes. Based on data for 2,560 public schools from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) 2007-2008, the findings indicate that high schools, urban schools, and schools serving a total student population of more than 50 percent minority…

Social justice leadership in high-poverty urban schools is complex. Principals experience a range of feelings and emotions while practicing social justice leadership with implications on their leadership. This article presents a qualitative case study of an elementary school principal in an urban setting and how she led to create a more inclusive…

"The Hard Truth" is a book written for principals and school administrators who want to implement effective change. The topics of the book candidly discuss the problems, people, and issues that get in the way of true school reform; and what building level principals can personally do attain the best possible outcomes.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has joined a number of school districts across the country implementing the K-8 model of education. In the 2011-2012 academic year, eight CMS elementary schools integrated middle grades to become PK-8 schools. These schools are part of an evaluation to identify effective practices in the transition process,…

Managing disruptive behaviors in schools is a high-ranking concern in communities across the country (Rose & Gallup, 2006). Unfortunately, the practice of instituting tougher and more severe consequences for increased discipline problems has not resulted in a decrease of disruptive behavior (Lewis & Garrison-Harrell, 1999; Safran &…

Background/Context: This article addresses which school-level factors contribute to school quality. Previous research has focused on assessing the effects of school-level variables on student-level quality (e.g., achievement). However, the field has been limited in not evaluating the effects of school-level factors directly on measured…