“A Powerful Visual Statement”: Race, Class, and Gender in Uniform and Dress Code Policies in New Orleans Public Charter Schools

The current study critically analyzes the dress code and uniform policies of 89 New Orleans public charter schools using content analysis. Dress code and uniform policies across the United States are deeply rooted in racism, sexism, and classism and, through their implementation, further contribute to these same oppressions. In this study, the dress code and uniform policies, including the justifications for policy, specific policy rules, and possible consequences for noncompliance, are the primary units of analysis. Drawing on intersectionality and the concept of misogynoir, this study attempts to dissect what school policies communicate about race, class, and gender. The racist, classist, and sexist language deployed within the policies is exposed while specifically centering the disproportionate regulation of young black female bodies in dress code policies. School social workers are uniquely positioned to advocate for more equitable dress code and uniform policies. This study contributes to the larger body of literature for its inclusion of data from an entire city as well as its intersectional approach.

Collaborations: Partnerships Create Success for Charter School Students

A unique partnership between public charter schools, a civic chamber orchestra, and university school of music has brought music instruction to middle school students in central Ohio. This collaborative endeavor can serve as a model for charter schools administrators wishing to expand their curricular offerings to include music and other arts instruction.

YES International Summer Service Program Design for High School Students

YES Prep Public Schools is a group of public charter schools focused on serving students from low-income communities across Houston, Texas. One requirement of all YES students is summer school between grades 5 through 10 and two mandatory summer internships between grades 10 and 12. Due to financial concerns many students who desire to do an international internship cannot afford any available programs offering such internships. In 2005, we introduced a new, internal, international summer service program for YES high school students to satisfy our summer internship requirement. This paper focuses on the process and results of designing, implementing, and modifying the program using the Lean Startup methodology through its first few years before it won a national award for its character-building work.

University Involvement with Charter Schools: Unique Opportunities for Service and Support

<p>Charter schools are a controversial, but vibrant, component of the current educational landscape, now serving over 3.1 million students in approximately 6900 schools across the United States. A unique aspect of this movement has been the establishment of alternative authorizers, and specifically universities, to approve and provide oversight to these public schools. Campus leaders and policy makers must consider numerous variables regarding a university’s involvement with charter schools. What are the implications of school choice on university policies and practices? Should universities be “authorizers”, granting charters to schools in direct competition with the traditional public school system? Can universities provide the required “oversight” mandated by the charter school laws, as well as providing “support” for the schools? What opportunities for partnerships and practicum experiences exist? The article provides an overview of issues that arise with public charter schools authorized by universities. With 18 years of experiences as a public university on the forefront of enabling charter legislation and the “sponsorship” of inner-city public charter schools, the authors provide a historical perspective of the role of universities within the school choice movement, including oversight roles and supportive programs within the unique and growing phenomenon of school choice. </p>

A Mixed-Methods Study of Adolescents’ Motivation to Read

Background Research has shown that reading motivation is correlated with achievement. Studying motivation in older students is particularly important as reading motivation declines over the course of elementary and middle school. However, current research largely fails to reflect the nuance and complexity of reading motivation, or its variation within and across contexts. Purpose This mixed-methods study investigates whether distinct reading motivation/achievement profiles exist for adolescents and what key levers foster adolescents’ motivation to read. This approach was designed to produce more generalizable results than isolated case studies, while providing a more nuanced picture than survey research alone. Research Design Seventh graders (n = 68) at two diverse public charter schools serving low-income students were surveyed regarding reading motivation and attitude. A cluster analysis of survey results and reading achievement data was conducted. One student per cluster was selected from each school for additional qualitative analysis (n = 8), and students and teachers (n = 2) were observed and interviewed. In addition, cross-case and cross-school analyses were conducted to determine key levers which may promote students’ motivation to read. Conclusions This study suggests that four distinct reading achievement/motivation profiles may exist. In addition, teachers have substantial influence on adolescents’ motivation to read. Teachers could benefit from gathering more information about students’ reading motivation and from promoting feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Visioning Hope: Embracing Higher Education’s Role With Urban Public Charter Schools

The purpose of this study is to reflect on the evolution of a partnership between a university and urban charter high school serving a predominately African American population. Because of the author’s embeddedness both as the researcher and participant member, this research assumes the paradigm of autoethnography. Reflections on key components of this evolution provide implications for teacher education, particularly in regard to a call for engagement between urban charter schools and educator preparation programs, and a challenge to higher education to analyze existing perceptions of public charter schools within a wider institutional mission to prepare educators for all children.