The focus of this brief is on the education of unaccompanied immigrant children arriving from Central America and Mexico, fleeing violence and poverty in their countries. Upon arrival, these children encounter a complicated immigration legal system, while having to navigate a new society within an anti-immigrant sociopolitical context. In recent…

The purpose of this study was to discover if food insecurity worsened in North American children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explored the prevalence of social food programs during remote learning periods when the pandemic halted in-person learning. Through progressive theoretical sampling, I investigated American and Canadian newspaper…

The primary aim of engagement in this phase was to gain input from a wide range of stakeholders that represented the diversity of the state. A multi-pronged approach was developed to structure engagement for the strategic planning process to ensure flexible, responsive and iterative communication with stakeholders. A combination of virtual and…

Public teachers in Japan are subjected to a compulsory rotation system where the prefectural board of education governs their entire career paths. Past research has written of the macro- and micro-level impacts of rotation systems, including Japanese teacher rotation, but this paper, based on years of working in and observing Japanese schools, is…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of six women who navigated a pathway to the position of superintendent. The guiding research question was, how do women who lead suburban school districts of various sizes describe their trajectory to the position of superintendent? Themes that emerged from the…

Inquiry-based working contributes to teacher professionalization and educational improvements. This article presents the key findings of a qualitative case study carried out in three primary schools in the Netherlands. That study focused on the inquiry-based working of school boards, school leaders and teachers, with the goal of better…

This paper is a project report of a policy analysis of educational policies aligned to standards set forth for trauma-informed school districts. Current state policies, mandates, and/or frameworks are under development, and in some states, non-existent. More often than not, expectations regarding trauma-informed implementation in the school…

In accordance with the provisions of Section 7-424.1 of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the Maryland State Board of Education has developed and adopted a Model Policy to address bullying, harassment, or intimidation. This report presents the Model Policy, which is organized into the following eight points: (1) Prohibition…

School board members are struggling to interpret laws that govern where and how they do business now that as many conversations take place digitally as they do face to face. As online and digital interactions increase, so too does public concern that officials have more opportunities to violate state open-meetings and open-records laws meant to…

This article presents a review of the development of platform network models that rely on partnership contracts to implement comprehensive school reform. The literature from the previous three decades of development of school networks, emerging largely from the United States of America, is reviewed. The recent development of similar network models…

Contextualizing the recent "Fisher v. University of Texas" ruling and how state institutions address diversity and affirmative action, the authors sought to determine how explicit institutions are being with regards to diversity strategic planning. The findings from a qualitative policy analysis determined that while 70% of State Higher…

This article tests the tenability of a Unified Model of Task-specific Motivation (UMTM). The UMTM integrates task-specific components from several theories of motivation. Core of the model are four interacting but relatively independent types of valences. Affective and cognitive valences represent feelings while doing an activity and thoughts…

The purpose of this study was to identify how one district attempted to meet the need for greater accountability in the teacher evaluation process as mandated by law and to describe strategies that were employed by the district to ensure the integration of student achievement data. This research highlighted how a teacher evaluation instrument…

Recent decades have witnessed a proliferation of nationally organized school reform interest groups like StudentsFirst. While historically active at the state and federal levels, these organizations are increasingly involving themselves in local school board elections by recruiting candidates, making donations, and offering policy advice. However,…

The authors believe it is time to expand the term school climate to reflect an intention of giving all children access to positive school environments. Their expanded definition recognizes that equitable school climates are central to education equity, and it calls on educators and policymakers to deepen awareness of race, ethnicity, gender,…