<p> In education today, Latino populations are growing, but Telles and Ortiz (2013) claim they account for the lowest academic levels and the highest levels of dropouts. Latino <i>transfronterizo</i> (literally border crossing) students and their parents in this study have high academic aspirations in spite of challenges of poverty, second language acquisition, and other difficulties which arise from U.S.-Mexico border contexts. Through dissecting the events of the 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of northern migration from Mexico and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 influenced anti-immigrant sentiment along the border and enactment of laws and policies to limit circumnavigating the international line. Misidentification as illegal immigrants creates borderland perceptions that Latinos are suspects and often results in discriminatory treatment from postcolonial dominant culture. This culture is reflected and perpetuated in schools where home language surveys identify native Spanish speakers to segregate them into Structured English Immersion programs for students with Limited English Proficiency. Ethnographic research from January of 2013 to August of 2015 included over 300 observations and 14 semi-structured interviews with seven <i>transfronterizo</i> students and nine parents revealed language disconnects between school and home. Relationships between teachers and students/parents did not exist and trust was lacking. Latino parents wanted to help students with school, but English only requirements limited their assistance. Through the use of Furman&rsquo;s ethic of community and Yosso&rsquo;s community cultural wealth, educational leaders could create communal process at schools to build the capacity of teachers and parents to create relationships and shared cultural competencies. </p>

<p> In the summer of 2011, the Studied School District (pseudonym) initiated teacher-training on the Focused Adaptable Structure Teaching (FAST) framework, a Direct Instruction model. RISE Educational Services provided the training and additional coaching continuously until the Spring of 2014. During this period of over 2 years, the FAST framework was the standard practice for delivering instruction in the Studied School District. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was multi-faceted: (a) to gather recollections of implementation of the FAST framework from teachers who experienced it as a discontinued school reform measure, (b) to have these teachers describe their own practices and perceptions of their peers&rsquo; practices during implementation of the FAST framework in order to assess Fidelity of Implementation (FOI), (c) to have these teachers describe the framework&rsquo;s influence on their beliefs about teaching and learning, and (d) to have these teachers describe the framework&rsquo;s influence on their current instructional practices. </p><p> Data for this exploratory research study were collected via semi-structured interactive interviews. The 10 participants were generated from a pool of teachers who were employed in the Studied School District at the time of training and implementation who were able to provide recollections of the experience from a practitioner&rsquo;s perspective. The interviews consisted of four prepared interview questions combined with unplanned clarifying questions that allowed for deeper reflection and analysis from the participants. </p><p> After a review and analysis of the findings and conclusions, two recommendations were produced from the study. First, when implementing new instructional programs, school districts should provide extensive introductory training prior to assigning teachers the task of putting the program into practice. The second recommendation is for the supervisors of instruction to ensure the expectations of implementation are communicated clearly and consistently at the district level and school sites.</p>

<p> School choice is a fast growing alternative to traditional public school education across the nation. According to the Florida Department of Education, school choice policies and laws are rapidly moving Florida away from more traditional forms of schooling toward an increasingly evolving school choice state landscape. The purpose of this study was to examine school choice in Florida by investigating the school choice policies enacted by the Florida legislature leading to the school choice environment in Florida today. Specifically, this investigation was limited to legislation in Florida between 1997 and 2014 and further limited to charter schools, home schooling, virtual education, and two choice options specific to Florida in which public dollars follow students to private schools, the Tax Credit and McKay Scholarship programs. These particular school choice options were chosen as the focus of this study because they change the where of education outside of traditional public schools. Other choice options such as magnet schools, inter-district choice, and intra-district choice simply move students among traditional public schools but keep them enrolled in traditional public schools. Ultimately the study hoped to provide a possible road map for the future of school choice policies in Florida. This study utilized a qualitative methodology utilizing document reviews and interviews. This study found that school choice policies in Florida have continued to expand and evolve over the years to increase the liberty available to families to choose the education of their children. </p><p> This study also found that the Florida legislature has laid the groundwork for Florida school districts, through a focus on equality, to take advantage of a portfolio management model to increase student achievement. Although a focus on equality led to the enactment of various school choice options, some of these options have moved away from their original intent to financially benefit specific organizations and groups. Finally, as reported by Holme, Frankenberg, Diem, and Welton (2013), Florida&rsquo;s charter school, virtual education, and home education policies have been enacted as race-neutral policies that have no regard for diversity, which could lead to resegregation.</p>

<p> Modern suburban school districts have experienced a significant shift in demographics over the last decade making them more diverse in race, ethnicity, income and ability level. The income diversity in suburban districts can hide pockets of significant need in the community. Due to the formulas associated with federal programs, suburban districts are less likely to receive supplemental funds to support vulnerable students. This study utilizes a case study approach and offers a unique view into the phenomenon by examining the work of a suburban school which has narrowed the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers without the assistance of federal funds. Data includes interviews with 18 previous and current administrators, teachers and other staff, meeting observations, and a review of school documents and artifacts. Findings note the school maximizes its limited resources, empowers teachers to be instructional leaders through trusting relationships, has a robust support system for students and builds a welcoming school culture. Shield&rsquo;s (2001) transformative leadership framework was used as a theoretical lens to explore the school&rsquo;s practices. </p><p> The results of this study enhance the understanding of suburban schools with diverse populations by (a) identifying the multi-tiered support system that increases achievement of all students; (b) recognizes the school climate and culture among staff and students that create an environment that reinforces learning; and (c) illustrates how relationships between administrators and teachers can reinforce the instructional practices of the school. </p><p>

<p> Too often, the truth behind a phenomenon is not sought through the perspectives of the people who lived that phenomenon&mdash;&ldquo;the masters of inquiry&rdquo; into their own realities, as Paulo Freire (1982, p. 29) has explained. Voice is the most powerful, reliable medium for collecting data based on lived experiences, if we are to gain genuine insight into the phenomenon (Freire, 1982). Focusing on the lived experiences of four formerly incarcerated young men of color, this study gave each participant the space to not only recall specific events and times, but to critically reflect on their lives&mdash;becoming more critically aware of their individual journeys and constructing new knowledge of the injustices that relate to the school-to-prison pipeline, including recommendations for change. This study sought to answer the following research questions through the voices of the participants: (a) Based on their collective and individual journeys through the juvenile justice system, how do formerly incarcerated youth describe their experiences? (b) What recommendations do formerly incarcerated young men have for reducing youth incarceration and recidivism rates? The participants provided rich narratives that answered each research question with the expert knowledge that can only be derived from firsthand experience. Through careful analysis of the data, several major themes emerged, tying together the experiences of each participant with the findings from the literature. Each participant spoke passionately on not only the need for change, but also specific recommendations for change. It is the power of their poignant insights that ground conclusions offered in this study.</p>

<p> School facilities issues in rural America and the resources to remedy them are made more complex by rural population trends, building deterioration and inadequacies, financial constraints, and education policy. The challenge for rural districts is to generate the revenues required to build or renovate school facilities. The resulting long-term underfunding of school facilities has left a pattern of crumbling school buildings across rural communities. Rural school districts, particularly those with older structures, need to improve energy efficiency of buildings and upgrade building infrastructure to support new technology </p><p> This case study was conducted to ascertain and gain an understanding of the decision-making process of a rural school board as it related to policy and funding for construction, renovation, and maintenance of school facilities. A review of the literature, to understand why rural schools are often in deteriorating condition, revealed a limited scope of research addressing rural education. Kingdon&rsquo;s (1984) Agenda-Setting Theory provided the conceptual framework for the analysis of the board of education&rsquo;s complex decisions made, both collectively and individually. Applied was Kingdon&rsquo;s The Three Streams Model to understand what factors influenced board members when making financial and policy decisions for school facilities. </p><p> This single case study utilized field research methods to collect interview data and documents for archival analysis. Interviews were conducted with the school board members who made the decisions for the capital building project investigated in this study. </p><p> A key finding in this study was how changes in district leadership and the shifting mood of the school board precipitated the initiation of a policy and reinforced the chances for survival. This finding was particularly true in respect of financial feasibility, which did, in fact, result in enabling the policy to become a building project. This case study serves as a foundation for continued analysis. To connect the larger themes of rural school facility issues with decision making, policy development, and the effects of changing social-economic dynamics shaping the rural school agenda locally, statewide, and nationally.</p>

<p> This basic interpretive study explored teacher and principal perceptions of reform and accountability and how these perceptions influenced leadership for school-based teacher development and learning. Complexity leadership theory served as the theoretical lens for the study and provided a holistic view of how reform and accountability served as tensions for enacted leadership roles both within and without the complex adaptive system of teacher learning and development. Four principals and twelve teachers participated in this study and reflected a maximum variation sample of teachers and principals across a southeastern state in the United States. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interview questions in one-to-one principal interviews and three teacher focus groups. Additionally, teachers constructed a drawing to illustrate what teacher learning and development looked like in their respective schools. Data from the interviews and drawings were analyzed for emergent themes and theoretical connections. Results found that all of the participants felt pressure from accountability for student performance as measured by state mandated tests. Required/mandated reform, created pressure to change instructional practice to ensure students showed growth and achievement on state mandated tests. Patterns of leadership behaviors for learning and development illuminated the role of principal leadership and context to the dynamic interactions of agents toward the shared need of improving instructional practice and growth. All participants experienced some form of tightly coupled leadership behaviors that stifled the teacher&rsquo;s ability to collaborate and interact with others. While reform and accountability were established to improve growth and achievement, the leadership behaviors oftentimes stifled the learning and development of the teachers. All of the principals and only three teachers&rsquo; responses revealed moderate couplings that supported agent interactions and one teacher experienced loosely coupled leadership behaviors. This study&rsquo;s findings suggest reform and accountability influenced leadership behaviors that tried to control and predict outcomes through information getting sessions or trainings which oftentimes led to static learning environments. Leaders that supported creation, innovation, and sensemaking in their schools, relinquished tight control and fostered collaborative spaces. These findings may be useful as educators endeavor to learn and grow to meet the evolving needs of the twenty-first century.</p><p>

<p> A college education offers people social and economic benefits, yet youth from foster care backgrounds are less likely than their peers to attain a college education, which places this already vulnerable population at higher risk for a lifetime of living on the margins of society. Foster alumni face multiple obstacles to accessing and persisting in higher education. To facilitate and support the success of this frequently overlooked population, professionals in higher education need to understand these obstacles. Little is known about the experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds as they transition into and through higher education. Although existing research has reported the academic, health, and social effects of having been in foster care, little is known about why foster alumni do not persist in higher education. This study used student-development theory, specifically Schlossberg&rsquo;s transition theory, Tinto&rsquo;s theory of student departure, and Bourdieu&rsquo;s work on social and cultural capital to provide a conceptual framework through which to view the lived experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds. Because, for many youths with foster care backgrounds, the pathway to the baccalaureate degree is through a community college, this study examined and explored the transition experiences of foster alumni about to begin or currently enrolled at an Oregon Community College. The study explored the factors that challenge and facilitate foster alumni persistence towards the attainment of a college degree.</p><p>

<p> In the 1960s and 1970s, there was an important issue in education that dealt with student privacy. Student education records were not accessible to parents, and important decisions were being made for the students without input from the parents. Based on this abuse, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was signed into law. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to determine if site administrators and teachers from educational institutions understand how to enforce FERPA. This study assessed the site administrators&rsquo; understanding of FERPA via a survey with questions on the knowledge of FERPA, student data, and student/parent rights. The study also assessed the impact of providing FERPA training to site administrators with a pre- and post-test. Interviews were conducted with the teachers to gain an understanding of their knowledge of FERPA with questions on student confidentiality and student data. The methodology for this study was a mixed-methods approach that used a one-group pretest-posttest design for the quantitative research and was supplemented by the qualitative data. </p><p> The results presented in this study contribute to the research literature on the importance of being trained in FERPA to enforce compliance and protect student confidentiality and privacy. Although there was a small sample size, there were slight increases from the pre-test to the post-test, which reinforces the importance of being trained on FERPA.</p><p>

<p> District leaders play a pivotal role in shaping federally-mandated policies that impact how digital citizenship curriculum is developed and implemented in schools. Yet, for many school leaders, teaching about digital participation may appear as a daunting and unfamiliar practice. In fact, most educators do not participate in digital communities, in contrast to the large number of youth who do. Over 1,200 district administrators from across the nation reported that they ban collaborative digital spaces such as social media in the classroom due to safety, privacy, and classroom management concerns. Yet, emerging research demonstrates that when students are given a structured opportunity to experience digital engagement in productive and constructive ways, students become producers rather than consumers of content and are able to develop an understanding of their digital participation in relation to their participation in society. </p><p> For educators who want to delve into digital citizenship, there currently exists a plethora of resources to support teachers in classroom-level integration of digital citizenship, but supports and resources for system-level, implementation remain limited. Moreover, these resources represent varied conceptualizations of digital citizenship, which results in inconsistent implementations of digital citizenship across classrooms, schools, and districts. Thus, how can district leaders such as superintendents, chief academic officers, or chief technology officers provide a cohesive and comprehensive digital citizenship program when the very conceptualization of digital citizenship remains unclear? </p><p> The purpose of this study was to utilize a case study approach to examine a large, urban school district&rsquo;s approach to defining, developing, and maintaining a digital citizenship initiative focused on empowering students over the course of four years. By documenting and unpacking the elements of a district-wide approach to digital citizenship, this study provides a foundation for systemic practices and a common language aimed at informing organizational policy and practice. Despite the concept of digital citizenship being in its infancy, this study provides an organizational perspective of its conceptualization and implementation across a large system. Findings revealed that the district&rsquo;s complex organizational efforts were rooted in political and symbolic decisions that facilitated the influence of digital citizenship across policy and program implementation efforts.</p><p>