This study examined the legal issues of teacher tenure in public K-12 schools in the United States. Included in this study is a review of the pertinent case law as it pertains to teacher tenure as well as a conclusive review, analysis, and summary of all relevant state statutes concerning teacher tenure in the United States. The federal statutes that influence state teacher tenure laws are also included in this study. Teacher tenure in public K-12 schools was originally derived from the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883, which provided job protections to federal civil service employees. The National Education Association (NEA) lobbied for teachers to be included in this law, and in 1909, New Jersey became the first state to offer tenure protections to public school teachers. Over the next century, every state in the union adopted similar laws and provided job protections to public school teachers. These laws have included the number of probationary years a teacher must work in order to earn tenure, the reasons a tenured teacher can be terminated, and the due process required in the event that a tenured teacher should require termination. In recent years, however, states have begun to alter or remove the tenure laws. Florida, Idaho, and Mississippi have already removed tenure protections for new teachers. Several states have bills moving through the state house and senate asking legislators to continue the elimination of tenure across the country. This study makes conclusions about the current state of tenure laws in the United States and the federal laws that are causing rapid changes in tenure legislation across the country. This study also makes conclusions from relevant research and case law about the legitimacy of further changes to teacher tenure legislation. This study makes recommendations to school officials and iv legislators about teacher tenure and its value within the school system, as well as how they might eliminate the flaws in the process that are driving the legislative changes.

<div> <p>This research investigated how to measure school active shooter safety against current policies in place regarding two different areas of school climate. Using the State of Indiana as a case study, 55 different schools from 38 different counties, various socioeconomic environments and school types (public, private, etc.) were surveyed. This collected data was used to represent a sample and representation of active shooter safety in K- 12 schools in Indiana. Research was conducted through a survey of approximately 40 questions posed to the principal of a school. The survey was anonymously distributed, and any identifiable information was assigned a numerical code. Anonymized demographics were considered and measured as well to determine how active shooter prevention is treated amongst them. After the study was conducted, the data shows how demographics, policies, and procedures affect school active shooter prevention. Analysis showed that school size may relate to lower social emotional security scores. Additionally, middle schools appear to score higher on social-emotional security than K-12 schools. Nonpublic schools also appear to score less on active shooter prevention than public schools. There is a moderate effect between the two. Schools and policymakers should account for this when developing active shooter safety plans. </p> </div> <br>

Illinois statewide infrastructure mapping provides basis for economic development of the state. As a part of infrastructure mapping, this study is focused on mapping healthcare and education services for Illinois. Over 4337 k-12 schools and 1331 hospitals and long term cares were used in analyzing healthcare and education services. Education service was measured as ratio of population to teacher and healthcare service as the ratio of population to bed. Both of these services were mapped using three mapping techniques including Choropleth mapping, Thiessen polygon, and Kernel Density Estimation. The mapping was also conducted at three scales including county, census tract, and ZIP code area. The obtained maps were compared by visual interpretation and statistical correlation analysis. Moreover, spatial pattern analysis of maps was conducted using global and local Moran's I, high/low clustering, and hotspot analysis methods. In addition, multivariate mapping was carried out to demonstrate the spatial distributions of multiple variables and their relationships. The results showed that both Choropleth mapping and Thiessen polygon methods resulted in the service levels that were homogeneous throughout the polygons and abruptly changed at the boundaries hence which ignored the cross boundary flow of people for healthcare and education services. In addition they do not reflect the distance decay of services. Kernel Density mapping quantified the continuous and variable healthcare and educational services and has the potential to provide more accurate estimates of healthcare and educational services. Moreover, the county scale maps are more reliable than the census tract and ZIP code area maps. In addition, multivariate map obtained by legend design that combined the values of multiple variables well demonstrated the spatial distributions of healthcare and education services along with per capita income and relationships between them. Overall, Morgan, Wayne, Mason, and Ford counties had higher services for both education and healthcare whereas Champaign, Johnson, and Perry had lower service levels of healthcare and education. Generally, cities and the areas close to cities have better healthcare and educational service than other areas because of higher per capita income. In addition to numbers of hospitals and schools, the healthcare and education service levels were also affected by populations and per capita income. Additionally, other factors may also have influence on the service levels but were not taken into account in this study because of limited time and data.

abstract: Energy performance and efficiency plays of major role in the operations of K-12 schools, as it is a significant expense and a source of budgetary pressure upon schools. Energy performance is tied to the physical infrastructure of schools, as well as the operational and behavioral patterns they accommodate. Little documentation exists within the existing literature on the measured post-occupancy performance of schools once they have begun measuring and tracking their energy performance. Further, little is known about the patterns of change over time in regard to energy performance and whether there is differentiation in these patterns between school districts. This paper examines the annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 28 different K-12 schools within the Phoenix Metropolitan Region of Arizona over the span of five years and presents an analysis of changes in energy performance resulting from the measurement of energy use in K-12 schools. This paper also analyzes the patterns of change in energy use over time and provides a comparison of these patterns by school district. An analysis of the energy performance data for the selected schools revealed a significant positive impact on the ability for schools to improve their energy performance through ongoing performance measurement. However, while schools tend to be able to make energy improvements through the implementation of energy measurement and performance tracking, deviation may exist in their ability to maintain ongoing energy performance over time. The results suggest that implementation of ongoing measurement is likely to produce positive impacts on the energy performance of schools, however further research is recommended to enhance and refine these results. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Construction 2015

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It is well documented that hetero/cisnormativity is prevalent in schools. Queerness predominantly enters schools through anti-Queerphobia work, efforts to protect and include “at risk” gender and sexually creative youth from overt violence and discrimination. ‘Normative’ conceptions about gender and sexuality, however, are not just present in overt gender policing; they lurk in how Queer (LGBTQIA2S+) people are constructed as (in)visible, ‘humourous’, and brave/excessive in and around schools. Hetero/cisnormativty – a hegemonic discourse that interlocks with colonialism, patriarchy, and neoliberalism – is at the heart of why gender and sexually expansive people are not thriving in schools. Mainstream efforts to protect and include Queer people (particularly youth) do not combat hetero/cisnormativity. By focusing solely on the ways that Queer youth are suffering in schools, these strategies absolve schools of looking deeply at how they (re)produce norms and hierarchical, non-reciprocal relationships through space, curriculum, and pedagogy that negatively impact everyone. Through a five-month critical participatory action research (CPAR) project, informed by queer and feminist frameworks, nine activist educators who formed the Queering Schools Collective, explore ways that Queerness/queerness does and can exist in schools beyond protective and assimilationist mainstream efforts. Educators Bridget, Kat, Gabby, Lauren, Max, Gayle, Reagan, Ronnie and Sarah co-researched ways to queer schools through examining the following concepts: inclusion, queerness/queering, and queering schools (space, pedagogy, and curriculum). Analyzing individual interviews, focus group meetings, and select journal entries, this thesis proposes that queering is an orientation towards desire, hope, and thriving; it rejects Queer deficiency narratives and positions queerness as non-dominant ways of being, acting, knowing, and valuing. This thesis likewise conceptualizes queering schools praxis as a flexible, situational process that engages multiple strategies concerned with disruption, reciprocity, and care. Finally, through interpreting collective members’ observations about the process, this thesis positions radical community spaces, where people can dream and strategize, as crucial for enabling queering school praxis. / Graduate

State digital libraries are manifestations of the diffusion of technology that has provided both access to and delivery of digital content. Whether the content is being accessed and used equitably in K-12 schools has not been assessed. Determining patterns of the diffusion of use across socioeconomic groups in K-12 schools may help measure the success of existing efforts to provide equitable access and use of digital content, and help guide policies and implementation to more effectively address remaining disparities. This study examined use of the Connecticut Digital Library (ICONN) in K-12 schools in Connecticut by determining annual patterns of use per school/district over a four-year period, using transaction log search statistics. The data were analyzed in the paradigm that Rogers (2003) describes as the first and second dimensions of the consequences of an innovation - the overall growth and the equality of the diffusion to individuals within an intended audience --- in this case, students in K-12 schools. Data were compared by school district and the established socioeconomic District Reference Groups (DRGs) defined by the Connecticut State Board of Education. At the time of this study, ICONN used aggregate data (total searches) for K-12 schools, but did not have relevant data on diffusion within the public schools in Connecticut related to district or DRGs.

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In 2010, the state of Tennessee embraced the call to overhaul teacher education and required programs to adopt a residency model within K-12 schools. How exactly this would affect the various methods courses in a teacher education program? This paper provides a description of how two elementary education methods courses have shifted from simulation-style projects to projects that involve working with actual elementary students throughout the semester. This article presents an overview of the new residency style methods courses, along with how major assignments shifted to utilize the extensive time pre-service teachers would spend in the elementary school classroom.

Educators have regarded building leader-member relationships using collaboration as a fundamental component to successfully improve students' academic achievement. Ineffective collaborative leadership practices may lead to achievement deficits particularly for many urban charter schools operated by educational management organizations. The purpose of this case study was to explore collaborative leadership practices educational management organization leaders need to assist school principals in low-performing K-12 urban charter schools to improve academic achievement. Guided by Fiedler's contingency theory, this case study explored the successful collaborative leadership practices of educational management organization leaders and school principals in a midwestern urban charter school to improve academic achievement. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 3 educational management organization leaders and 5 urban charter school principals and reviewing archival company documents. Data analysis involved coding and theming significant phrases and emerging patterns related to successful collaborative leadership practices until reaching data saturation. The emerging themes revealed included collaborative practices; academic achievement; implementation to change; school improvement; professional development; compliance and regulations; organizational culture, and community involvement. Findings from this case study resonated with Fiedler's contingency theory and indicated the significance of collaborative leadership practices. A significant positive social change implication is that the awareness of collaborative leadership practices in low-performing K-12 urban charter schools can enhance student academic achievement.