Classrooms should be inviting and safe places where students can strive to achieve worthwhile goals, even as they learn that the road to improvement is not always paved. This deceptively simple guiding principle is what Ron Nash has spent four decades in education pursuing and refining. "In Praise of Foibles: The Impact of Mistakes, Failure,…

We describe how a modified version of an emergency survival strategy led our team in addressing problems of practice identified in two second grade classrooms. We attended to the urgent needs of students by enacting the curriculum with integrity, doing what was most important and effective, while accommodating their classroom context (LeMahieu,…

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) social work students experience microaggressions on campuses, curricula that are often cissexist and stigmatizing, and a lack of inclusive facilities, like gender-neutral bathrooms. The Transgender Justice Group (TJG) was founded by students at a School of Social Welfare (SSW) to respond to these and other…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "School Safety." Contents include: (1) Students Demand Safe, Supportive Schools:…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Strengthening School Safety." Contents include: (1) The Facts about…

Classrooms should be spaces where every child feels safe to bring their whole self to school. This book shows how to set up preK-grade 6 classrooms that support student agency, independence, and choice. The results of classrooms designed with these goals in mind include: (1) Greater student engagement with curriculum; (2) Students who know…

This guide aims to help education professionals reimagine and redefine school safety such that safety is not the absence of a negative but rather the existence of positive elements such as interconnection, belonging, voice, and agency. The guide is intended to support educators and education leaders to create systems of mutual care and shift the…

Douglas Kellner's "Re-Visioning Education: Cultural Studies, Critical Media and Digital Literacies, and Democracy" provides a comprehensive account of his critical theory of education that combines his work in philosophy of education, cultural studies, and media and digital literacies aimed at a critical theory of education and radical…

With the intent of improving music teacher education for people of trans and/or gender-expansive (TGX) experience, the purpose of this study is to convey the voices and experiences of three TGX music educators. These data are drawn from four semi-structured interviews with three participants totaling 268 min. Utilizing transgender theory and…

K-12 administrators, such as district superintendents, school principals, and assistant principals, must support and engage in emergency management planning in order to develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive school emergency operations plans (EOPs). Engaging school administrators is crucial because their involvement is essential to…

Schools should be spaces where students feel safe and welcome, actively engage with learning, and strive for success. Discipline policies and practices should reinforce these values, particularly safety and belonging. Unfortunately, ineffective discipline practices that punish students harshly and take them away from the classroom -- like…

Too many rules restrict teenagers' freedoms and development. How can schools straddle the line between providing safety and harmony for students, but also giving them room to make their own mistakes and assert independence? Benson looks at the problem of too many rules, and how it not only harms students, but also interpersonal relationships…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Breaking Barriers to Learning." Contents include: (1) The Importance of…

Nurturing the "good" in students of color requires educators to confront harmful stereotypes. Alexs Pate, author of "The Innocent Classroom," describes how teachers can create safe spaces where all young students can thrive.

This book reviews timely, pragmatic interventions and strategies to support LGBTQ students in K-12 schools. Where formal programs affirming diversity of gender expression and sexual orientation are not yet in place, contributors provide insights and practical tips for creating a positive, safe school environment. Topics include how stigma based on…