Enabling School Librarians to Serve as Instructional Leaders of Multiple Literacies

Research has demonstrated that school leaders have little to no understanding of the instructional leadership role of the school librarian and have received little to no training in how to lead this population (Lewis, 2018; 2019). Though the standards of the school library field state that school librarians should be equipped and able to serve as instructional leaders of multiple literacies in K-12 education, barriers exist that inhibit this from becoming a reality in many schools. One of these barriers is a lack of administrative support in the form of a district library supervisor to develop a vision for and provide support to the district’s school library program and its personnel. Very little research has been conducted to examine the support needs of in-service school librarians (Weeks et al., 2017), and no research has been conducted to explore how to equip existing leadership to effectively lead its population of school librarians in a school district that lacks an official district library supervisor. The purpose of this study is to explore how school district leaders can foster the development of an effective school library in which school librarians serve as instructional leaders of multiple literacies.

Network Exploration of Interdistrict School Choice Over Time in a Mandatory Open Enrollment State

Background: Early studies of district-level outcomes of interdistrict school choice policies found changes in how districts interact with one another and changes in districts’ per-pupil expenditures. More recent studies suggest that wider social and political consequences may result from interdistrict choice policies. Purpose: In Colorado, interdistrict school choice participation increased from 4.64% participation in the 2003–2004 fiscal year to almost 10% participation in the 2016–2017 fiscal year, shifting more than $7.79 billion in per-pupil revenue in the process. This suggests a corresponding shift in the social organization of schooling under Colorado’s statewide interdistrict school choice policy. Research Design: Quantitative studies on school choice policies typically examine the factors leading to individual choices when choosing schools or the individual outcomes of those choices. This study takes a different approach to quantitative analysis of school choice by employing separable temporal exponential random graph modeling (STERGM), a network analysis method, to examine patterns of student-enrollment ties that are created between school districts when students enroll outside their district of residence. Conclusions/Recommendations: School district leaders and policy makers should be cognizant of changes to the organization of education and the fiscal impact of those changes—especially given that findings from this study suggest that these changes may be out of their hands. Findings may have indirect impacts on matters such as mill levy and bond evaluations by way of total program formula calculations and may suggest a hidden destabilization of democratic processes, such as losing the interest of voters who send their students to a school in another district.

Factors that Influence School Choice: A Look at Parents’ and School Leaders’ Perceptions

School choice is a growing movement, and public school districts are faced with the challenge of preventing declines in student enrollment. In response, school districts must work to retain enrolled students and at the same time, attract new students. This qualitative study focused on developing an understanding of the factors that influence parents’ decisions to enroll their child(ren) in a chosen school, that is, a school which differs from that assigned to the student, also known as school choice. This case study examined data from the perspectives and experiences of parents and public school district leaders. Results suggest that school leaders need to ensure they build good relationships with parents and keep a positive school culture where customer service is valued and held to the highest standards. In essence, school leaders must maintain strong partnerships with their families to attract and retain student enrollment. The results from this study equip school leaders with valuable information for strategic planning to address declines in student enrollment.

An Essential but Overlooked Workforce: Elevating the Need to Investigate the Career Development of Paraeducators

Recent research documents the positive impact that paraprofessionals have on student learning. Given these strengths, states and districts across the country have developed programs to attract and prepare paraprofessionals to become certified teachers. Despite increased interest in expanding pathways for the paraeducator workforce, research has also consistently revealed that paraeducators encounter obstacles along the career development continuum from recruitment, preparation, placement, and induction. Given the professionalization challenges paraeducators face, this special issue introduction highlights paraeducator research studies that describe innovative program design features, draw from and build on paraeducators’ funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth, and identify organizational structures in schools essential to supporting paraeducators’ development. We conclude with a recommended set of three core commitments for program designers, researchers, policy makers, or community and school district leaders dedicated to ensuring equitable paraeducator professional pathways in the educator workforce.

Cover Up This Face? The Principal Takes a Stand

This case was written for graduate students, specifically for individuals seeking school principal licensure. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced school organizations, particularly building and district leaders, to modify and alter the traditional educational model. School district leaders hosted virtual town hall meetings to receive community input to determine the safest option to deliver instruction to students. Educational leaders have endured challenges from stakeholder groups that pertain to students returning to campus amid a pandemic. Future school leaders can use this case to examine their knowledge of case law, student discipline, and navigating a complex scenario due to COVID-19.

What are the conditions under which research-practice partnerships succeed?

Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are long-term collaborations between researchers and practitioners aimed at educational improvement and transformation through engagement with research. Yet RPPs can be challenging to implement, and even long running RPPs experience bumps in their work together. Caitlin Farrell, Laura Wentworth, and Michelle Nayfack discuss what conditions helped school district leaders and researchers from the partnership between Stanford University and San Francisco Unified School District be more or less successful in influencing school district policies and practices, and they share recommendations on how to develop or support conditions for successful partnerships.

Leaders’ Perspectives on the Preparation of Bilingual/Dual Language Teachers

This research and policy brief uplifts findings from a 2020 survey of 223 California school district leaders. Findings regarding the preparation of beginning bilingual/dual language educators indicate that leaders rated teachers’ linguistic competencies in two languages as the most important ability, followed by teachers’ understanding of bilingualism and biliteracy development and linguistic pedagogical knowledge. Respondents rated beginning bilingual teachers’ preparation to meet the needs of their districts/schools as “moderately well” (M=3.1 out of 5). The brief concludes by identifying policy recommendations for state and local levels as well as for institutions of higher education policies and practice in this statewide “new ecology of biliteracy”: (1) data collection and reporting on bilingual teacher demographics and authorization; (2) increased quality of fieldwork and clinical experiences for future bilingual teachers; (3) increased funding for bilingual teacher preparation programs to diversity pipelines into bilingual education preparation programs, recruitment, support, and program completion; and (4) differentiated professional development experiences for beginning bilingual teachers including mentoring, learning communities, and cross-departmental teams.

Is the grass really greener? A qualitative study of teacher reflections on their decision to migrate from small rural districts to larger school districts

Teacher retention in rural schools continues to be an area of concern. This qualitative study examines why teachers migrate from small, rural school districts to teach in larger districts by interviewing teachers who have already made the move and who have taught in both environments. It also shares the perceptions of teachers as they reflect on their experience in the small district as well as how they now feel about their decision to leave the small rural district. Findings indicate that teachers look back fondly at their time in small rural schools and, while they do not regret their decision to leave, they do think more teachers should have that experience. Teachers discussed the similarities and differences of the district sizes and gave their personal reasons for leaving. Findings reveal teachers primarily leave small rural districts for financial concerns and enjoy a smaller workload at the secondary level in the larger districts. Workload at the elementary level seemed to be similar. Recommendations for small rural school district leaders are presented.

On Leadership: Responding to COVID-19: Short- and long-term challenges

In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, school district leaders’ most immediate priority was to ensure that students have access to regular meals. However, efforts to provide a range of other social services must follow close behind. As a start, superintendents can look to their data systems to help them identify those students and families that are most likely to need social services to make it through this phase and beyond. But even while racing to ensure students’ health and safety, they cannot afford to ignore the longer-term challenges that their districts will face, given not just the need to move instruction online but also given that COVID-19 is all but guaranteed to do serious damage to state and local economies.

Principals and District Leaders Navigating the Marketplace: Lessons From Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania

Due to the growth of school choice across the United States as well as declining enrollment in some districts, schools are experiencing increasing competition for students. As a result, principals and school district leaders in high-choice districts are now expected to develop strategies such as branding, marketing, and community outreach to attract and retain students. Yet, there is a lack of literature exploring whether principals and district leaders are prepared to navigate these competitive spaces effectively, ethically, and equitably. Our study examines how principals and district leaders experience competition as well as their perspectives and practices in terms of marketing their school. In order to understand this complex process, we juxtapose theoretical perspectives on family and community partnerships with more mainstream market theories and critiques. We then apply these frameworks on three unique cases along the Texas–Mexico border, a low-income area of New York City, and rural Pennsylvania. Data were collected primarily through interviews with principals, superintendents, and other district leaders. We find that in all three cases, principals and district leaders felt they had to engage in marketing practices. Yet, some principals clearly embraced market-based rhetoric while others viewed strong community engagement as a means for maintaining enrollment. The three cases also reveal critical equity issues regarding principal experience, district support, and preexisting market hierarchies. We conclude with a discussion considering how districts can create equitable conditions for marketing and how leadership preparation programs can prepare principals and school leaders to work ethically and effectively in competitive spaces.