This research examines Black educators' professional experiences in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) over forty years, through six superintendents and a state takeover. Using critical race theory, this research uncovers how Black educators' perceptions of SDP, based on district leadership, combined with their interpretations of the historical, social, and political contexts, influenced how they defined their professional situations, interpreted the culture of the District, and how they performed their roles. A phenomenological, historical ethnography approach is employed to investigate person to institution interactions interpreted through the historical record and educators' narratives. This research explores power relations and disjuncture between the goals, assumptions, and rhetoric of the School District of Philadelphia as expressed through its policies, politics, and practices, juxtaposed against the narratives of Black educators. This research found that SDP is peculiar, particular, unforgiving, and deeply politically entrenched. Its politics are complicated by issues of race and insider-outsider tensions and are compounded by state politics and the national political landscape. The politics within SDP were also influenced by the interpretation of the contemporary political narrative by the superintendent and his or her epistemological beliefs and ontological bent within that narrative. / Urban Education

Students are coming to school with myriad issues that teachers and schools cannot address alone. ecological systems theory posits that the environments with which a child comes into contact, either directly or indirectly, can impact her or his development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). With the support of community partner organizations in the local community, community schools can effectively respond to students’ needs and help them navigate the interconnected web of environments. Through interviews, focus groups, and a document review, this cross-site case study explored the practices that are employed by community school leaders (school staff and employees of community partner organizations) at two pilot high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), to implement six guiding principles of community schools. The study also captured impacts of these practices through participants’ perceptions, documents, and the application of transformative leadership theory. The findings revealed that the pilot school model is a natural avenue for the community schools strategy, and that intentional practices and a shared vision by all stakeholders can result in transformative impacts on students and the school as a whole. District and school leaders could consider developing processes and systems for implementing a community schools strategy district-wide by providing funding for community school coordinators for school sites, working with school leaders to develop their shared decision-making skills, and leveraging the assets and resources of community partners.

This study was supported by the Texas Education Agency and initiated by a consortium composed of Apple Computer, the University of North Texas, and the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, one of the six schools involved with the Columbus Project. The problem in this descriptive study is to determine if training teachers to use application, management, and instructional software on the Macintosh computer will increase their productivity. The sample of teachers involved with the study volunteered for the training.

“Creating Community in Isolation: The History of Corpus Christi’s Molina Addition, 1954-1970” examines the history of the Molina Addition in Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas, and its serving district, the West Oso Independent School District, from 1954 to 1970. Specifically, this essay begins with an analysis of the elite-driven campaign to annex the blighted Molina Addition in September and October 1954. The city intended to raze the neighborhood and develop middle-class homes in place of the newly annexed neighborhood. Following the annexation of the Molina Addition, African American and ethnic Mexican residents initiated protracted struggles to desegregate and integrate schools that served their area, the West Oso Independent School District, as detailed in the chapter, “The West Oso School Board Revolution.” The chapter examines the electoral “revolution” in which Anglo rural elites were unseated from their positions on the school board and replaced by African American and ethnic Mexican Molina Addition residents. The third chapter, “Building Mo-Town, Texas,” focuses on residents’ struggle to install indoor plumbing, eliminate pit privies, construct paved roads, and introduce War on Poverty grants to rehabilitate the neighborhood. This chapter also offers a glimpse into the social life of Molina youth during the 1960s.

Legal data for the study come from briefs of state and federal court decisions. Political information is drawn from various governmental reports to the Sixty-third Texas Legislature on public school finance reform. Other material is from minutes of the House Committee on Education and interviews with members involved in the legislative process. The study describes and analyzes competing forces which try to influence policy decisions and attempts to identify the salient issues in the political process of educational policy-making. This information is incorporated into a systems model for heuristic purposes. The study pays special attention to state and federal court decisions, with emphasis on the "Burger Court" and President Nixon's influence upon the court. The latter part of the study concentrates on the Sixty-third Legislature and post-Sixty-third Legislature of Texas, and its efforts to write a public school finance reform program. The findings of the study show that the disparity in educational opportunity in Texas is a reality. The study also shows that school districts with the greatest need for reform are often least effective in influencing educational decision-makers. Finally, the study reveals that the inequities in public school finance are inherent in the ad valorem tax system used in most states for public school financing. Further study is recommended into the politics of public school finance reform, with particular attention to the Texas Constitutional Convention's efforts to reform the state's funding formula. A study of the governor's role in public school finance should also be made, with special attention to the reasons for his refusal to call a special legislative session to deal with the problem. Finally, it is recommended that a study be made of the Fort Worth et al. v. Edgar case, since it represents a new dimension in the conflict over the use of the ad valorem property tax in funding public education.

The purpose of this study was to analyze ways in which the roles of instructional support staff as perceived by principals and instructional support staff members in a large, suburban school district have been affected by the implementation of site-based decision making (SBDM). Research questions focused on changes which have occurred in the roles of instructional support staff and in the services provided to schools by support staff since the implementation of SBDM, the roles which support staff members believe they have in SBDM, the perceptions of principals regarding the roles of instructional support staff in SBDM, and a comparison of the views of instructional support staff and principals regarding the district's implementation of SBDM.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of gaining a better understanding of factors which promote public school teachers' job satisfaction and the determination of the degree of impact of two specific organizational factors upon such job satisfaction. The two organizational factors are those of involvement in the decision-making process of the school district and the locus of control construct. This study had two purposes. The first was to determine if the direct involvement of classroom teachers in the decision-making process of a public school district affected their perceptions of job satisfaction. The second was to determine the relationship of locus of control on job satisfaction when teachers were directly involved in the decision-making process of a public school district.

The purpose of this project was to create electronic books (E-books) for kindergartens to read during their center time. The E-books are intended for kindergarten teachers to use to help their students learn to read while utilizing the technology resources in their classroom. These E-books are teacher created so the cost is minimal and they can be copied and distributed to each student without worrying about copyright laws. Teachers can customize them to fit the current thematic unit they are teaching and once created, they can be used repeadedly without being damaged like paper books.

The purpose of this study was to connect English language learning (ELL) student's school life with their home life. Proposition 227, which prohibited the use of Spanish in the classrooms, has made it difficult to make the home-school connection. Research shows that parents play a vital role in the education of their children but Proosition 227 severely restricted Spanish speaking parents' participation in their child's education. This study demonstrates how the use of home response learning journals empowered parents to participate in their children's literacy and biliteracy development.

The focus of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a community college based program that utilizes contextual teaching and learning methods that will prepare completers for careers in public safety.