Lead contamination of public drinking water and academic achievements among children in Massachusetts: a panel study

Background Public drinking water can be an important source exposure to lead, which can affect children’s cognitive development and academic performance. Few studies have looked at the impact of lead exposures from community water supplies or their impact on school achievements. We examined the association between annual community water lead levels (WLLs) and children’s academic performances at the school district level. Methods We matched the 90th percentile WLLs with the grade 3–8 standardized test scores from the Stanford Education Data Archive on Geographic School Districts by geographic location and year. We used multivariate linear regression and adjusted for urbanicity, race, socioeconomic characteristics, school district, grade, and year. We also explored potential effect measure modifications and lag effects. Results After adjusting for potential confounders, a 5 μg/L increase in 90th percentile WLLs in a GSD was associated with a 0.00684 [0.00021, 0.01348] standard deviation decrease in the average math test score in the same year. No association was found for English Language Arts. Conclusions We found an association between the annual fluctuation of WLLs and math test scores in Massachusetts school districts, after adjusting for confounding by urbanicity, race, socioeconomic factors, school district, grade, and year. The implications of a detectable effect of WLLs on academic performance even at the modest levels evident in MA are significant and timely. Persistent efforts should be made to further reduce lead in drinking water.

Assessing law enforcement websites: a comparative analysis exploring types, quantity and quality of information available

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the availability of information on law enforcement websites in the state of Wisconsin.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted a content analysis of all 179 county and municipal local law enforcement agency websites within Wisconsin. The authors then implemented a comparative analysis that explored whether the quantity and quality of information available on law enforcement websites are similar to those of local governments and school districts. The authors then estimated models to test whether there is a relationship between the population size served and gender distribution of law enforcement departments to the availability of information on law enforcement websites.FindingsLaw enforcement websites contain a noticeable lack of information. The finding is even more apparent when comparing law enforcement websites to the websites of local governments and school districts. Finally, the authors show a positive link between information sharing on law enforcement websites and the proportion of the civilian staff at an agency that are women.Originality/valuePast studies that reviewed the make-up of law enforcement websites analyzed large law enforcement departments rather than local law enforcement departments, which notably represent the majority of most law enforcement departments. The authors also explicitly demonstrate that the commitment to information sharing is lagging within law enforcement websites compared to local-level governments. Future scholarship and law enforcement departments may benefit from exploring the employment of female civilians.

Building Professional Capacity among Paraeducators through Onboarding

Many studies have investigated the inadequacy of training and support for special education paraeducators, but few have examined prehire activities or recommended a comprehensive plan to train and hire paraeducators. This quantitative action research study of 267 special education paraeducators and special education teachers was conducted in a large urban school district to address the concern over paraeducators’ lack of knowledge and training and the need to consider these factors when hiring staff in public school districts. Based on themes from the literature and the expertise of an insider, the purpose of the study was to increase the understanding of the relationship between and the perception of the importance of organizational factors, employee knowledge, and training. Results showed that paraeducators are not adequately trained, prefer specific training topics, and recognize that factors and knowledge affect job performance. The researchers then created a formal institutionalized onboarding program for new hire paraeducators based on a change management model. Immediate implementation recommendations, along with an onboarding plan and checklist, are included for school districts and their human resource departments.

Teacher Round Table

Study and Scrutiny has focused on the publication of critical and empirical studies surrounding the scholarship and critical merits of Young Adult literature. Because other journals provide a space for pedagogical practices concerning YA, the editors have intentionally shied away from explaining to teachers how to teach a particular title in a particular way. Still, the intention of the journal has been, in part, to support the learning of secondary students as readers and the classroom practices of their teachers. This section hopes to serve as a space to open the conversation surrounding YA literature, its critical merits, and ways that the research might serve teachers as they make curriculum choices about both texts and strategies. The idea is to bring teachers, as intellectuals, into conversation surrounding the scholarship of a featured study. For this issue, four Oklahoma teachers from four different school districts focus on Arianna Banack’s article “Connecting and Critiquing the Canon: Pairing Pride and Pride and Prejudice.”

Kuwaiti Teachers' Satisfaction with the Social Studies Curriculum and Their Performance in the Classroom

This study investigated Kuwaiti teachers' satisfaction with the structure of the social studies curriculum and their performance in the classroom. It aimed to answer two main questions through a twenty-two-item questionnaire applied to a sample of 132 social studies teachers. The results have shown moderate satisfaction in this regard among those teachers. There were no effects of teacher gender, experience, or various school districts on the satisfaction of social studies teachers and their performance in the classroom. The researcher called for reevaluating the curriculum by its developers to pinpoint and rid it of the causes that obstruct higher teachers' satisfaction and performance, mainly its inadequacy to students' interests, needs, skills, creativity, individual differences, and practical learning activities, and up-to-date teaching methods. Received: 9 September 2021 / Accepted: 5 December 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

What About Me?

Children with differences do not need to be fixed or cured or pitied. Children are valuable simply for the person they are and will be. Schools and school districts have sought to remediate the weaknesses of children with disabilities without focusing on or utilizing the strengths and interests of children with disabilities as the basis for individual education programs (IEP). Beginning with a pre-referral process that focuses on parent or teacher concerns for children, driving an evaluation that focuses on a child's weaknesses, leading to an IEP built on remediating weaknesses that often ignore an individual's strengths and interests, the process and end product are focused on deficits in children. This chapter will present an alternative to this model, an alternative focused on identifying and utilizing a child's strengths and interests in the development of IEPs.

Teacher-Designed Games

Video games play an important role in education; however, the idea of teachers as designers of digital classroom games to support student learning has not been widely embraced. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of why and how teachers used and designed games in teaching differently with various gaming background. This mixed-method case study involved a group of teachers who used and/or designed games for students. The four unique case groups were grounded in three regions and four school districts in Alberta, Canada. First and second cycle data coding and analyses were used to answer 1) what factors influenced the types of games teachers used and designed in teaching and 2) what factors influenced how and why teachers integrated game-based learning in teaching.

Beyond the Classroom

The growing dilemma of teacher job turnover has severely handicapped the fundamental responsibility of school districts to maintain a committed and stable instructional force. Using the lens of organizational systems theory, this chapter explores ways in which building leaders can actively increase job embeddedness of teachers and staff by constructing collaborative perspectives of teaching and learning. A systems approach where disciplines are integrated and community culture is respected can result in teachers being more engaged in school-wide pedagogy, feeling less isolated, and developing a convivial sense of fidelity which can lead to job satisfaction and commitment to remain.

Upgrading Classroom Environments for Tomorrow's Learners

Educational structure in the P-12 environment has not changed in a century. However, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, school districts were forced to become innovative in their lesson delivery models. That necessary shift has provided innovative thinking for administrators and teacher leaders about what classrooms of tomorrow might look like, supported by a hybrid model or completely online courses. This chapter will outline how to design and implement courses for a potential hybrid or online class from a teacher perspective. Further, suggestions for administrators to support the ever-evolving role of the teacher will be shared.