Utilizing Technology to Support and Extend Access to Students and Job Seekers during the Pandemic

The ongoing pandemic has necessitated a re-imagining of library services. The needs of our community changed and we set out to find ways to provide assistance to those who could benefit the most including students and the unemployed. The Pflugerville Public Library offered virtual learning support and job search assistance by providing electronic resources, virtual services and expanding access to technology. New resources include a platform offering virtual tutoring for students, virtual services like job search coaching, and scholarships for an online high school program for adults. Expanding access includes a partnership with the local school district to better connect students with our resources and providing expanded Wi-Fi availability and other tools like laptops. The combination of utilizing technology to address the current needs and expanding access to this technology has allowed us to better serve the community. Many of these changes will last beyond the pandemic.

A Study of One State’s School District Physical Restraint and Seclusion Policies

This descriptive analysis of policy content examined local school district policies on physical restraint and seclusion in one Midwestern state that did not have state legislation on these topics to determine whether districts had policies and, if so, whether their content included recommended principles from the U.S. Department of Education. No previous research has addressed district policies. A maximum variation sample of 90 districts was examined to determine whether policies were in place, whether recommended principles were included, and whether policies varied based on student enrollment. Although almost all districts had policies, many of the federally recommended principles were not addressed across the sample and less than 10% of the district policies indicated that these procedures should only be used in the case of imminent danger of serious injury to self or others. District enrollment size did not affect policy, but the substance of the policy was determined by the districts’ policy source from advising attorneys.

Factors Potentially Influencing Discipline Referral and Suspensions at an Affiliated Charter High School

This article addresses long-standing data from federal government agencies documenting concerns regarding the use of school discipline and suspension indicating that Black students are referred for discipline and/or suspended at a higher rate than students of other ethnicities. Available data from a local school district reflected similar troubling patterns of discipline referral and suspension. The purpose of this study was to determine if variables such as students’ ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender predicted the likelihood of receiving discipline referrals or being suspended at an affiliated charter high school in a local school district. Guided by Bandura’s social learning theory and Skinner’s behaviorism, this correlational explanatory quantitative study examined archival school discipline data for 2,536 students enrolled (n = 1,570 students who received at least one discipline referral or suspension) during the 2013–2014 school year at a local high school. Binomial logistic regression results showed that Black students from low socioeconomic backgrounds were significantly more likely to be suspended compared to other ethnicities. Negative binomial regression analysis indicated students who were Black, male, and were from low socioeconomic backgrounds were at significantly greater risk of receiving a referral than other ethnicities. These results suggest that by investigating school discipline patterns, disproportionality can be identified and later addressed in a manner that respects the unique needs of all students. <br /><em></em>

A Year in K-12 AI Education

The time is ripe to consider what 21st-century digital citizens should know about artificial intelligence (AI). Efforts are under way in the USA, China, and many other countries to promote AI education in kindergarten through high school (K–12). The past year has seen the release of new curricula and online resources for the K–12 audience, and new professional development opportunities for K–12 teachers to learn the basics of AI. This column surveys the current state of K–12 AI education and introduces the work of the AI4K12 Initiative, which is developing national guidelines for AI education in the USA. A Note to the Reader This is the inaugural column on AI education. It aims to inform the AAAI community of current and future developments in AI education. We hope that the reader finds the columns to be informative and that they stimulate debate. It is our fond hope that this and subsequent columns inspire the reader to get involved in the broad field of AI education, by volunteering their expertise in their local school district, by providing level-headed input when discussing AI with family and friends or by lending their considerable expertise to various decision makers. We welcome your feedback, whether in the form of a response to an article or a suggestion for a future article. – Michael Wollowski, AI in Education Column Editor

Minority Support: School District Demographics and Support for Funding Election Measures

In the context of tight state budgets, local education funding is increasingly important. This article examines the relationship between district-level demographic characteristics and voter support for tax increases to fund the local school district. Using district-level panel data on California school district elections and demographics from 1995 to 2014, we ask the following questions: (1) What is the relationship between demographics and support for school district tax measures? and (2) Does this relationship vary by the type of tax measure? Results suggest that voter support varies by district demographics. However, results differ for bond and property tax measures and suggest that the proportion of Black students increases the likelihood of passing a bond measure but reduces the likelihood of passing a property tax measure. This heterogeneity offers one potential explanation for contradictory evidence in the literature. Results have implications for racial inequality of educational resources between districts.

Superintendents’ Perceptions of the Influence of a Statewide Dual Enrollment Policy on Local Educational Programming

This study surveys superintendents about Ohio’s ambitious statewide dual enrollment policy (“College Credit Plus”), specifically examining its local implications from superintendents’ perspectives. In particular, we find that issues of funding related to this policy have become a growing concern, and that districts are frequently struggling to identify teachers who meet the certification requirements to teach dual enrollment courses. Overall, this policy has presented several challenges at local levels, especially for smaller, rural high schools. Nevertheless, most superintendents perceive that this dual enrollment policy has provided benefits to their students. In discussion, we position our findings within the broader literature and the continued calls for expanded dual enrollment programming. As a whole, this highlights the need for researchers to attend to specific dual enrollment policy details and how they affect local school district programming.

Navigating the policy directive of child autonomy in universal pre-kindergarten practice

Drawing on case-study data, this inquiry explores the lived experiences of four universal pre-kindergarten teachers to address the question: How do practitioners narratively interpret a local school district policy directive of child autonomy, use their professional capacities to reconstruct the directive to address diverse students’ needs, and then implement or instruct their reconfigurations of autonomy in context-specific ways? By examining the tensions between policy and locally embodied practice, teachers’ voices shed light on professional struggles within large universal pre-kindergarten programs, and offer possibilities for reconceptualizing and enacting policy directives at the community level.

Comal County, Texas

Comal County, Texas, may be rural but its students face many of the same challenges as students in urban districts. Communities In Schools of South Central Texas works with the local school district to identify student needs and provide critical supports to help young people prepare for life after high school.

State Takeovers and Black and Latino Political Empowerment

How is black and Latino representation affected by state takeovers of local government? Since racial minorities have had a complex history in the struggle between local autonomy and centralized authority, when does state centralization lead to increased political empowerment for racial minorities? Conversely, when does centralized authority negatively affect political empowerment among racial minorities? To answer these questions, the chapter examines how state takeovers of local school districts affect black and Latino descriptive representation on local school boards. Relying on a case study of Newark, New Jersey, and analysis of every state takeover of a local school district, the chapter shows that contrary to conventional wisdom, takeovers and centralization can increase descriptive representation among marginalized populations. On the other hand, the chapter also shows that under other conditions, takeovers are even more disempowering than the scholarship has previously imagined and understood.

The Last Word: Learn to Tie Your Shoelaces . . . Please!

I had to know how to tie my shoelaces before I left kindergarten. It was on my report card.But apparently you don’t have to know how to do that anymore, or at least not in our local school district. I find that to be a real problem for me professionally!