Bringing Arts Integration to Youth (BRAINY) at Colorado State University

In this chapter, the authors demonstrate how a university Art Education program assists the university art museum and trains students to lead tours for BRAINY (BRinging Arts INtegration to Youth), the museum's educational program for Title I schools. The authors present how they guide student educators to develop tours for BRAINY by applying different interpretive strategies. The impacts that BRAINY creates for the visiting students and local communities include 1) the enhancement of civic engagement for young citizens, 2) high-quality art experiences for Title I schools, 3) the extended community program—Family Day. The impacts on student art educators are 1) knowing how to teach art in different learning contexts that are outside of the classroom, 2) applying the questioning strategies to their classroom teaching for probing art dialogues with students, 3) learning to be prepared but also flexible for unexpected situations. This chapter provides a practical and positive example to address a wonderful collaboration between an art museum, community members, and higher education.

Effective Instructional Leadership Practices in High Performing Elementary Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between principals’ instructional practices and student achievement. A phenomenological case study examined 13 Title I elementary schools in central California that exhibited a) a high percentage of students from poverty, b) higher than average state assessment results, and c) principals that remained in their schools for 3 years or more during the same time period. The study analyzed instructional leadership practices (ILP) and the monitoring tools used by the principals and its effect on student achievement. The impact of this study provides a model for ILP of principals that can be incorporated into their daily habits that provide opportunities for instructional changes that can lead to increased student achievement.

New Southern Gothic

Investigating the demise of the writ of habeas corpus under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), this paper questions the callused lineage of cases upholding Title I of AEDPA and contends that states must take up a statutory method like Texas’s to review defendant’s claims of actual innocence to ensure that the legal system designed under the U.S. Constitution remains fair and just not only in theory, but in practice. Using imagery from the southern gothic genre, this paper also reveals that “the death belt” most adequately portrays the reality of the death penalty, as many appeals based on actual innocence originate from this area.

“Everybody Knows Everybody”: Adolescents’ Perceptions of What Helps Them Succeed in a Rural Title I School

The current study explored adolescents’ perceptions of what contributes to their experiences of success in a rural Title I school through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Participants included adolescents who were enrolled at a rural Title I Middle/High School in the southern United States. The single campus school district serves approximately 185 students from Prekindergarten to grade 12. Approximately, 73% of the students are identified as At-Risk, 88% of the students are economically disadvantaged, and 100% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Ten students from this school, with assent and parental consent, participated in the current study. Participants’ ages ranged from 13 to 18, and the students represented different genders (seven males, three females) and various racial and ethnic backgrounds (three Black/African American, four Latinx, two White, and one Biracial). Results from the current study suggest low-income adolescents in a rural Title I school perceived (a) school size, (b) family support, and (c) their own internal drive to succeed as contributing to their success at school. These themes, their corresponding subthemes, and representative participant statements are included. Implications for school administrators, teachers, and counselors along with directions for future research are discussed.

It Doesn't Have to Protest: A Review of Black or Right: Anti/Racist Campus Rhetorics

[To predominantly white institutions:] Whose responsibility is it to make our Black community feel like their lives matter here, and what are we purposefully and creatively doing about it [every day] to live up to it? Reflecting critically on my own intimate experiences as a Black doctoral student, college lecturer, and former student affairs professional in predominantly white spaces, I share an insightful review of Louis M. Maraj’s (2020) riveting new book, Black or Right: Anti/Racist Campus Rhetorics. Based on the title, I initially expected Black or Right to be some sort of a guidebook to help campuses learn how to refrain from using racist language in their marketing, programming, classrooms, and ways of interacting with campus constituents and community partners. I speculated that it would teach these same folx how to make Black faculty, staff, and students feel welcomed and equal instead of anxious and hyperaware. I thought about the white colleagues [and students] I could pass this text on to, with the accompanying note, “You might like this!,” which really means, “You need this.” Sigh. While Black or Right is not a guidebook on how to eliminate racist language on college campuses or an explicit outline for how to embrace the Black members on them, it is a beautiful piece of choreographed words that illustrates, examines, and disrupts how decolonized ways of writing, storytelling, and ways of being, teaching, and communicating on college campuses confronts, strategizes, calls out/in, and proclaims notions of Blackness in anti-Black spaces. I argue that this type of work is far more important than a Black person writing another book to teach white people how to talk to and treat us. Black or Right pays homage to and educates readers on the Black academy’s social justice pioneers, whose trailblazing paths and research encourage us to keep running in this race and reminds us we are dynamic. Courageously accepting the baton to complete the next leg, Maraj empowers and pushes us to run alongside him through his creative ability to discuss these topics through literary events, discussions, and assignments he has created in his own safe space, in his classroom. Brother Maraj, thank you for bringing your whole self, multiple identities, and diverse lived experiences to this text. In the spirit of your mother who allowed you to leave the islands to come to the US for greater opportunities - this book is a manifestation of her knowing your worth. Thank you for writing this fascinating piece that reminds us to never forget our worth, to demand our respect, and for educating and engaging all people in this necessary dialogue. Black is right. Black is right. Black is right. But Black folx are always protesting. Dear Brothers and Sisters, never forget: We always mattered.

Preparedness and Experiences of Novice Teachers in the Sociopolitical Context of Heightened Immigration Enforcement: Evidence From a Survey of California Teachers

For teachers of immigrant-origin students and their peers, emerging research notes the challenge of facilitating a high-quality education for students subject to traumatic events related to harsh immigration enforcement policies. This study examines whether new teachers from seven teacher preparation programs experienced the impacts of immigration enforcement and felt prepared to support students who were impacted. I surveyed new teachers in preservice and after 1 year of teaching ( N = 473) using survey instruments developed by Cohen and colleagues along with additional constructs developed via pilot testing. New teachers reported that immigration enforcement negatively impacted their students and their job satisfaction. Teachers exposed to discussion of immigration policy and teachers who reported engaging with immigrant families in preservice were more likely to view themselves as prepared to support students. I discuss differences for teachers in urban, Title I, and elementary settings.

Litigation on Accommodating Teachers With Disabilities

Qualified employees with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The demanding nature of the teaching profession presents a particularly challenging context for accommodations; therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine litigation on accommodating teachers with disabilities. Authors searched Lexis+ to identify case law on accommodations claims by teachers with disabilities. Results indicated plaintiffs were primarily female. Depression represented the most common disability, followed by respiratory issues, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Accommodation claims were adjudicated under the broad categories of failure to meet the essential functions of the position, failure to engage in the interactive process, and undue hardship. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.

On the Importance of the Americans With Disabilities Act at 30

This article offers a glimpse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”), at its 30th anniversary. It considers current issues before the courts, primarily legal cases from 2020 and 2021, and new questions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, such the latitude of the ADA’s antidiscrimination protections and its definition of disability. It provides a quick primer on the basics of the ADA: employment discrimination under Title I, antidiscrimination mandates for state and local governments under Title II, and commands to places of accommodation offering services to the public under Title III. The ADA at 30 remains a beacon for a future in which all people, regardless of individual difference, will be welcomed as full and equal members of society.

Science in School: Transforming K-12 Outreach through Scientist Teacher Partnerships

The Scientist in Every Florida School (SEFS) program was started in 2019 with a long-term vision to connect Earth systems scientists with public K-12 schools in Florida and therefore create long-term scientist-teacher partnerships. SEFS fulfills personalized requests to create meaningful and impactful interactions to support teacher pedagogy and student learning. We have as part of our mission a focus on mainstream public schools, and in particular, those that are Title I. We also are committed to working with at-risk teachers. The major components of our program include the scientist-teacher partnerships, focused professional development workshops on Florida's Earth systems (air, water, land, and life), classroom visits, and other web-based activities. Although still only in its first few years, the project and its more than 600 scientists have a wide reach with over 850 teachers and 53,000 students participating in our programs, which were delivered virtually in the 2020-2021 school year covering about 60% of Florida's 67 counties. In this article, we describe our programmatic features as well as recommendations for those who could implement similar programs.

Funding Structures and State Capacity for School Improvement under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Case Studies of Five States

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal government allocates 7% of Title I funds, about $1 billion per year, for school improvement. States have substantial autonomy in allocating these funds, including which schools are identified for federal school improvement, what improvement strategies are used, and whether external intermediaries are involved. A growing area of research explores the private, often for-profit school improvement industry, but few studies track the finance and policy structures that funnel public funds to external K–12 intermediaries. In this study, we draw on document analysis and interview data to explore school improvement practices and finance policies in five case study states. We find that states use varied methods for identifying schools for improvement, and also vary in the extent to which they provide local autonomy to school districts. Some states, such as Texas and Tennessee, incentivize schools to adopt particular strategies or encourage partnering with an external intermediary. Texas provides a list of vetted external intermediaries they expect districts to work with (and support financially). Other states, such as California and New York, provide more state-led school improvement strategies through regional offices and give districts greater local autonomy. Findings point to possible benefits of local autonomy, while highlighting potential challenges associated with unregulated market-based reforms in education.