Charter schools

The Jatiya Sangsad of Bangladesh is presently a unicameral institution marked by significant political polarization and a lack of professional legislative scrutiny. This study examines the "Second Chamber" as a method for institutional "cooling". This study evaluates Commonwealth models (India, the UK, and Australia) to determine if an Upper House of experts, regional representatives, and technocrats could alleviate the "tyranny of the majority" present in the existing system. The document culminates in a proposed structural framework for a "Senate of Bangladesh".

This study analyses the adaptation of the Westminster parliamentary model to Bangladesh, emphasizing the structural and legislative changes that have concentrated power in the prime minister's office. The Westminster system aims to harmonize executive efficiency with legislative accountability via mechanisms like collective cabinet responsibility and parliamentary confidence; however, Bangladesh's constitutional framework specifically Article 48 (Presidential powers), Article 70 (Anti-defection), and the Prime Minister's appointment authority-has facilitated a concentration of executive power.

Unilateral economic sanctions, increasingly employed as instruments of foreign policy, generate profound constitutional concerns within democratic systems. Although intended to exert pressure on foreign governments, such measures frequently expand executive authority, circumvent legislative scrutiny, and constrain judicial oversight, thereby risking domestic constitutional tensions. This paper explores the intersection between international economic coercion and internal governance, assessing how unilateral sanctions reshape the separation of powers, legislative competence, and judicial review. Through comparative case studies and doctrinal analysis, the study identifies institutional mechanisms that reconcile effective foreign policy implementation with constitutional safeguards.

This article asks how patriarchy travels across historical rupture without always appearing as domination. Placing a U.S. ethnographic case study of women electricians and union brotherhood in conversation with Janet Afary's history of sexual politics in modern Iran, it proposes brotherhood as a carrier form through which masculine identity becomes institutional authority. Brotherhood is not treated as a sentiment of male loyalty alone, but as a social, symbolic, and communicative formation that converts skill, protection, patriotism, morality, and civic belonging into recognized male power. Drawing on Gramsci's theory of hegemony and Hymes's ethnography of communication, the article argues that patriarchy survives by being renamed in the legitimate language of each historical moment. Its continuity depends not only on male enforcement, but on unequal social transmission through families, workplaces, religious idioms, nationalist projects, and speech events that make domination sound natural.

The CST is one of 7 national Content Centers in a federal network of 22 Comprehensive Centers. The U.S. Department of Education charges the centers with building the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to assist districts and schools in meeting student achievement goals. The goal of the CST is to provide technical assistance and to identify, synthesize, and disseminate research-based practices and emerging promising practices that will lead to the increased capacity of SEAs to support districts in turning around their lowest-performing schools.

This paper explores the pivotal role of parents as "cultural architects" within the educational ecosystem, emphasizing their capacity to shape, bridge, and sustain meaningful family–school partnerships. Moving beyond traditional models of parental involvement, this study examines how parents actively construct cultural frameworks that influence student engagement, academic achievement, and social-emotional development. By analyzing the intersection of home environments and institutional school cultures, the research highlights successful strategies for fostering collaborative, culturally responsive communication between educators and families. Ultimately, the paper provides actionable insights for school administrators and policymakers to co-create inclusive educational environments that empower parents as essential partners in driving systemic student success.

Responding to the call for "Short Notes on the State of Educational Change and Its Future," I reflect on changes explicitly and implicitly articulated through twentyfive years of Journal of Educational Change scholarship and educational change scholarship more broadly, particularly external actors' increasing prominence in and control over educational change. I then argue we must look to educators' resistance to those private forces as a map to returning the power of change to educators.

This Article critically examines the rise of market-based public school reforms. It argues that market-based public school reforms result in quality public education being normatively conceptualized and treated as what political economists call a private good rather than a public good. While public education is admittedly not a pure public good, it is widely recognized as a quasi or impure public good that benefits society as a whole in many ways. Yet market-based public school reforms situate public education as a private good by diminishing public education’s ability to truly bring positive externalities to society as a whole. They do so by situating the positive externalities associated with a quality public education in ways that do not benefit the greater society. Instead, market-based public school reforms allow a shallow subset of people to take advantage of market-like exchanges to select — rather than be assigned to — a particular school that they believe will provide a qua...

Refugee-background students in Australian schools often experience trauma that significantly affects their wellbeing, engagement, and academic success. While trauma-informed education has gained prominence internationally, limited research has explored how such approaches are conceptualised and implemented in Australian contexts, particularly within structured frameworks such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS). This systematic review investigates how trauma-informed pedagogy supports refugee students' engagement and wellbeing in Australian schools and examines the extent to which multi-tiered frameworks are integrated into these practices. Comprehensive searches were conducted across seven academic databases between September and October 2025, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Ten peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025 met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and thematically synthesised using an inductive approach to identify recurring concepts and patterns. Five interrelated themes emerged from the synthesis: the centrality of relationships and pedagogical care; cultural responsiveness and identity affirmation; teacher capacity and professional learning; systemic and structural barriers to implementation; and the emerging alignment of trauma-informed practice with MTSS and SWPBS frameworks. The findings reveal that while relational and culturally responsive approaches are widely recognized as essential for supporting refugee students, there remains limited empirical evaluation of whole-school or system-level implementation. Overall, the review concludes that trauma-informed education in Australia is characterised by innovation but lacks consolidation. Stronger policy alignment, sustained teacher professional learning, and longitudinal research are needed to embed trauma-informed pedagogy within multi-tiered, culturally responsive, and relational frameworks that promote resilience, equity, and belonging for refugee-background learners.

School closures are increasingly common among U.S. public schools, driven by both budgetary constraints and accountability pressures to turnaround low-performing schools. This paper contributes to the nascent literature on school closures by evaluating student achievement and mobility outcomes in a large-scale restructuring effort in Washington, D.C. in which 32 elementary and middle school campuses were closed or consolidated in the summer of 2008. Using longitudinal data, we investigate how student outcomes change in relation to this initiative with an instrumental variables strategy that counters the endogeneity of student assignment across schools before and after the restructuring occurred. The results show that the academic performance of students directly affected by the school restructuring experienced a temporary decline, but it rebounded by the second school year after restructuring occurred. Additionally, we find no evidence of closure adversely inducing further mobility among affected students.

Constitutions worldwide try to balance legislative supremacy with judicial protection of constitutional values. The basic structure doctrine, from India, limits the legislature's authority to amend provisions that would destroy the constitution's essential features. By contrast, systems based on parliamentary sovereignty allow legislatures to alter constitutional arrangements without substantive judicial restriction. This study explores global judicial responses to transformative amendments. It examines the tension between judicial restraint and entrenchment and assesses how courts navigate the complex relationship between legislative authority and the preservation of core principles.

Drawing on policy feedback theory, this study examines whether personal experience with choice options and exposure to information about existing programs cultivates broader political backing. Using data from a nationally representative survey (N = 1,447), we find that individuals with direct or familial experience with school choice programs are significantly more likely to support expanding choice programs. A randomized survey experiment demonstrates that framing choice policies as already implemented in real states or countries modestly increases support, varying by the perceived political alignment of the referenced location. These findings suggest that familiarity generates positive feedback, contributing to the momentum behind choice expansion.

هدفت الدراسة إلى بناء تصور مقترح تطوير منظومة استقطاب واختيار الموظفين والمعلمين لتعزيز جودة التعليم الخاص بمنطقة تبوك في ضوء الاتجاهات الحديثة. واستخدم الباحث منهجا مزجياً تمثل في: 1-النوعي بإجراء مقابلات مع عينة بلغت (12) قيادياً وكوادر إدارية بمدرستين، والوصفي التحليلي لـ(72) وثيقة علمية وتقريراً رسمياً (26 بالعربية، 46 بالإنجليزية)، وأظهرت النتائج تبايناً في تنظيم ممارسات الاستقطاب بنسبة توافر بلغت (50%)، مع غياب تام لاستخدام المقاييس السيكومترية والتقنيات الذكية في المفاضلة (0%)، كما كشفت عن أثر طردي للاتجاهات الحديثة في رفع كفاءة الأداء التدريسي بنسبة (25%)، وخفض الهدر الإداري الناتج عن ضعف الملاءمة التنظيمية. وبناءً على هذه النتائج، تم اقتراح تصور (DE-RES) كخارطة طريق ابتكارية لتطوير الموارد البشرية التعليمية. كما أوصت الدراسة بأتمتة عمليات الفرز عبر أنظمة تتبع المتقدمين الآلية (ATS)، وتأسيس مراكز استقطاب مشتركة لمدارس المنطقة؛ وإدراج اختبارات الجدارة السلوكية كمتطلب إلزامي للتعيين، كما قدمت مقترحات بدراسات مكملة في الموضوع.///This study aimed to develop a proposed framework for enhancing the recruitment and selection system for staff and teachers to bolster the quality of private education in the Tabuk region, in light of modern trends. The researcher employed a mixed-methods approach, which included a qualitative component involving interviews with a sample of (12) leaders and administrative staff at two schools, and a descriptive-analytical component examining (72) scientific documents and official reports (26 in Arabic and 46 in English). The results revealed a variance in the organization of recruitment practices with an availability rate of (50%), alongside a total absence of psychometric assessments and smart technologies in the selection process (0%). Furthermore, the findings demonstrated a positive correlation between modern trends and improved teaching performance by (25%), as well as a reduction in administrative waste resulting from poor person-organization fit. Based on these results, the (DE-RES) framework was proposed as an innovative roadmap for developing educational human resources. The study recommended automating screening processes through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), establishing joint recruitment centers for schools in the region, and integrating behavioral competency tests as a mandatory requirement for hiring, while also suggesting further complementary research on the subject.

This paper presents Reverse Sabbaticals 2.0, a curriculum-centered framework designed to address persistent gaps between academic instruction and evolving industry requirements. Although universities and industries collaborate through internships, guest lectures, sponsored research, and technology transfer, these interactions rarely influence the design of core curricula. Reverse Sabbaticals 2.0 proposes structured two-way exchanges between faculty and industry professionals to enable curriculum co creation and applied learning. The model organizes participation across three tiers of engagement; Engage, Embed, and Elevate and two participation tracks involving faculty externships in industry and practitioner participation in academic roles. The framework is informed by a systematic review of 28 peer-reviewed studies supported by bibliometric mapping and expert consultation. Building on principles of experiential learning and collaborative curriculum design, the paper also outlines a research agenda across six domains to guide future empirical testing and institutional implementation of structured academia-industry collaboration.

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic decision-making are reshaping the administrative state. Self-learning AI systems are increasingly performing functions traditionally undertaken by human bureaucrats, prompting constitutional scrutiny under the non-delegation doctrine, which limits the legislature from transferring excessive policymaking authority to non-legislative actors. This paper investigates whether democratic states can legitimately delegate administrative adjudication to AI, drawing on U.S. and comparative jurisprudence, the "intelligible principle" standard, and the challenges to transparency, accountability, and due process posed by algorithmic governance. Policy recommendations for safeguarding democratic legitimacy in AI-assisted bureaucracies are proposed.

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرّف على دور الإدارة المدرسية في توفير الوسائل الصوتية لمادة اللغة الإنجليزية من وجهة نظر معلمي مدارس مرحلة التعليم الأساسي (الشق الأول) ببلدية ترهونة، وذلك نظرًا لأهمية هذه الوسائل في تنمية مهارات اللغة لدى التلاميذ وتحسين مستوى تحصيلهم الدراسي. واعتمدت الدراسة على المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، حيث تم جمع البيانات باستخدام استبانة أُعدّت خصيصًا لهذا الغرض. وتكوّن مجتمع الدراسة من (183) معلمًا ومعلمة من معلمي مرحلة التعليم الأساسي (الشق الأول) للعام الدراسي 2025–2026م ببلدية ترهونة، في حين اعتمد الباحث على العينة العشوائية البسيطة لاختيار عيّنة الدراسة من مجتمعها الأصلي، وقد استُخدمت الاستجابات الصالحة للتحليل الإحصائي لتحقيق أهداف الدراسة. وأظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن الإدارة المدرسية تواجه صعوبات في توفير الوسائل الصوتية اللازمة بصورة كافية، كما كشفت عن وجود عدد من المعوقات التي تحدّ من الاستخدام الفعّال لهذه الوسائل، من أبرزها نقص الموارد المادية، وضعف التدريب المتخصص للمعلمين، والمشكلات التقنية، إلى جانب محدودية الدعم الإداري. كما بينت النتائج أن توافر الوسائل الصوتية وتوظيفها بصورة فاعلة يسهم في رفع دافعية التلاميذ نحو تعلم اللغة الإنجليزية، وتحسين مهارات الاستماع والنطق لديهم، وتعزيز التفاعل داخل البيئة الصفية. وفي ضوء هذه النتائج، أوصت الدراسة بضرورة تعزيز الدعم المادي والفني من قبل الإدارة المدرسية، وتوفير برامج تدريبية متخصصة لمعلمي اللغة الإنجليزية حول كيفية استخدام الوسائل الصوتية بفاعلية، إضافة إلى متابعة وتقييم توظيف هذه الوسائل بشكل منتظم داخل المدارس، بما يسهم في تحسين جودة العملية التعليمية وتحقيق أفضل المخرجات التربوية.

Background: Although the extant critical literature suggests that no-excuses charter schools and charter management organizations (CMOs) embody neoliberal and racist logics, recent staffing data suggests that they have diversified their teaching force considerably over the last decade. Indeed, national staffing data indicates that charters and CMOs now employ more Black teachers than traditional public schools. This study aims to understand this tension between the critical literature and the school staffing literature.
Purpose: Grounded in neoliberal multiculturalism theory, this study seeks to explore the experience of Black teachers in a space that embodies neoliberalism and, simultaneously, ostensibly becomes more multicultural. Specifically, this qualitative case study of the Black teacher experience in a no-excuses CMO asks: What are the primary reasons Black teachers joined their CMO-based school, and how do Black teachers describe their experience at their CMO-based school?
Research Design: This study used a case study design with the CMO as the primary unit of analysis. The lead researcher collected data though in-depth semistructured interviews with Black teachers from two representative schools within the same CMO. Through analytic memos and inductive coding, the research team analyzed the data thematically.
Conclusions: We find that Black teachers joined their school believing that the CMO valued their identity as an asset in educating Black and Brown students. Instead, in line with neoliberal multiculturalism theory, they learned that their Black identity, and that of their students, is both commodified and rejected in their CMO.

Background/Context: The lack of court-ordered support for race-based policies that maintain and create integrated schools has forced communities of color to seek other avenues to obtain equitable education, such as school choice. Individual states and the federal government, as seen in grant provisions through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, are encouraging the expansion of choice at the very time that options for increasing student diversity, particularly racial diversity, are being narrowed by the courts. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The article uses critical race theory to examine the outcomes of specific school reforms, based on market theory models of school choice, that were designed to alleviate schooling inequities in urban districts. Setting: The context of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as a microcosm of urban districts that have embraced school choice to create more equitable schooling options. Milwaukee, like most metropolitan areas, has a history of court-ordered desegregation that served as a temporary solution to racially segregated schools. Given the federal and district court turn from supporting race-based desegregation policies in schools, Milwaukee and other metropolitan districts are looking for new models to serve students of color in their districts and cities. Research Design: This article is a conceptual paper that incorporates data from a variety of sources to support the authors' conclusions. Data Collection and Analysis: Data for this project were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, documents from newly created small high schools, such as Web sites and curriculum designs; current newspaper articles discussing issues of small high schools; archival newspaper articles documenting the creation of the 1990 choice and charter programs; professional experiences as a member of the Bill and Melinda Gates institutional selection and

Background/Context The lack of court-ordered support for race-based policies that maintain and create integrated schools has forced communities of color to seek other avenues to obtain equitable education, such as school choice. Individual states and the federal government, as seen in grant provisions through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, are encouraging the expansion of choice at the very time that options for increasing student diversity, particularly racial diversity, are being narrowed by the courts. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The article uses critical race theory to examine the outcomes of specific school reforms, based on market theory models of school choice, that were designed to alleviate schooling inequities in urban districts. Setting The context of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as a microcosm of urban districts that have embraced school choice to create more equitable schooling options. Milwaukee, like most metropolitan areas, has a h...

Exploring Modern Greek as a Second, Foreign, and Heritage Language considers the diverse educational contexts within which Modern Greek is taught and how these diverse contexts substantially alter the requirements for materials, teacher training, and instructional practices. Divided into three parts, this book systematically examines the teaching of Greek as a second, foreign, and heritage language for students in Greece and further afield. The methodologies vary from interviews to case studies and introduce innovative approaches such as experiential learning, creative writing, and theatrical practices designed to create a more holistic learning experience. The in-depth studies provided in this collection are designed to raise awareness of the unique challenges and different needs arising in the Greek language classroom and the implications for teachers and learners. This book will be essential reading for educators, researchers, and policy makers interested in the teaching of Greek as a second, foreign, or heritage language.

The central argument of this chapter is that post-colonial states operate—and, due to their roots in colonialism and capitalism, have always operated—according to an “ethos of privatization,” through which state agents derive private benefit from positions ostensibly responsible for providing public services. The chapter offers a framework for understanding the ethos of privatization as central to state behavior that is based on insights from literatures in four areas: global education policy, political economy, world systems theory, and post-colonial studies. The chapter demonstrates
the theoretical and methodological value of this framework for producing insights on the nature—and consequences—of state origins by applying it to the case of educational privatization in Honduras. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the benefits of this framework, particularly vis-à-vis more established approaches rooted in the policy sociology literature.

Access to education is universally acknowledged as a fundamental human right and a crucial component of social justice. Global legal systems increasingly demonstrate the value of education in fostering equality, alleviating poverty, and facilitating inclusive social growth. This study investigates the correlation between educational access and social justice law, emphasizing constitutional protections, international human rights frameworks, and national policies aimed at ensuring fair educational possibilities. The research assesses the legislative frameworks established to combat discrimination, economic disparity, and systemic obstacles that hinder educational access. It contends that robust legal frameworks, efficient public policies, and judicial enforcement are necessary to make sure that educational institutions foster social justice and fair opportunity for all societal members.

This paper highlights the value of philosophy as a tool for reflection and critical thinking, emphasising its epistemological dimension as a lifelong approach to inquiry and scientific reasoning. The central research question concerns the importance of educating through philosophy, fostering conceptual understanding, the pursuit of truth, the construction of arguments, and engagement in a philosophical dialogue within educational curricula that incorporate philosophy for children. Part of the argument focuses on highlighting the presence of philosophical education since antiquity. The conclusions indicate that children perceive philosophy as a distinct way of thinking, corresponding to concepts and justified beliefs. The framework of the paper's approach is based on ancient Greek philosophy, the Socratic method, the homo mensura protagorean principle, the intellectual movement of the Sophistic Enlightenment, and the Platonic dialectic. The study's primary contribution lies in promoting "inquiry into the meaning of concepts," a key benefit of the P4C (Philosophy for Children) initiative, which fosters critical and philosophical thinking skills of growing importance in the modern world.

Undermining or disputing the essential structure that regulates political power, institutional equilibrium, and the safeguarding of rights leads to constitutional crises. In nascent democracies, such crises frequently stem from executive overreach, conflicts over electoral legitimacy, diminished judicial independence, and political polarization. This study establishes a normative and institutional framework for detecting constitutional crises and suggests valid, rule-of-law-based remedies. The study suggests that fixing constitutional crises requires a combination of changes to elections, independence for the courts, rules for changing the constitution, open political discussions, and strengthening institutions, all based on lessons from other countries' constitutions and governance. The study highlights that sustainable constitutional recovery relies not just on textual amendments but also on reinstating institutional legitimacy and public confidence.

In the twenty-first century, African-American males continue to be significantly "left behind" academically in comparison with other ethnicities and even compared to their female counterparts. Nonetheless, there appears to be one school that has been situated to have the "antidote" for this gap. This working case study draws on an interview methodology to investigate the programming experiences of alumni, former faculty, current faculty, and administration from a predominantly all-Black male school with a reported 100 percent graduation rate that is situated in the nation's third largest school district. Through a critical race theoretical lens, the interviews present narratives that counter the dominant narrative of the failing Black male in U.S. schools while presenting voices of dissent that create a counter narrative challenging the programming and reported "success" of graduates from Urban Prep. Disrupting Discourses of Failure: Counter narratives of black male students and academic success

Algorithmic forecasting increasingly impacts decisions that transcend immediate results, influencing the welfare and rights of future generations. This study analyzes the ethical and moral aspects of predictive algorithms, especially in intergenerational scenarios, where the repercussions of today's decisions may emerge decades or centuries later. We examine the convergence of computational prediction techniques, justice theories, and moral philosophy to assess whether existing frameworks sufficiently address long-term distributive and procedural fairness. We argue that without deliberate consideration of intergenerational equity, algorithmic forecasting risks embedding systemic biases into the very fabric of future society.

Professor Cruse goes on to say, however, that Brown was "empirically ... poor sociological jurisprudence." Sociologist James Coleman has stated: "The assumption that integration would improve achievement of lower-class black children has now been shown to be fiction." 3. R. WOLTERS, THE BURDEN OF BROWN: THIRTY YEARS OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION 3 (1984).

The butterfly's wings are always flapping. In education, our responsibility is to notice them early, to ask what might seem invisible, to explore what isn't written down, and to plan not only for implementation, but for interaction with the local environment. The key is to begin with outcome clarity. If the destination is shared and understood, then variation in the journey should not be feared, rather it should be expected. Every school's pathway to improvement will be different, shaped by its people, culture, and leadership ecology.

Constitutional reform is foundational to democratic resilience and institutional legitimacy. However, reform processes may become deadlocked when an elected government refuses to implement reform mandates, even those arising from legally constituted procedures or public referenda. This study examines core democratic principles such as majority rule, constitutional supremacy, and government intent; surveys institutional mechanisms for resolving constitutional stalemates; and offers legal, rational, and precedent-based pathways to restore constitutional progress. Central to this analysis is the contemporary constitutional reform debate in Bangladesh, particularly the July National Charter process, its legal status, controversies over implementation authority, and the challenges of reconciling procedural legitimacy with political resistance. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening constitutional reform frameworks, emphasising the rule of law, inclusive dialogue, and procedural clarity.

The urban education typology put forth by Milner (Urban Educ 47(3):556-561, 2012) offered a conceptual demarcation of three different, yet interconnected types of urban school districts (i.e., urban intensive, urban emergent, and urban characteristic). Nearly one decade after Milner's seminal urban education typology, few empirical or conceptual articles have operationalized this typology across multiple school districts in one region. We enter this scholarly space to reaffirm the typology and its utility in identifying the conditions that create varying educational inequities and transformative opportunities. Through a critical race spatial analysis, we attempt to capture, crystalize, and expand Milner's typology by examining a multitude of data points and intentionally drawing on geospatial data from five linked school districts in Harris County, Texas. Our findings, as viewed through lenses of Critical Race Theory and the Chicana Feminist conceptual framework known as borderlands, accentuate two major implications; (1) while there are physical spaces of restriction inside and around schools and school districts, regularly school districts contend with identical challenges despite their urban education typology categorical classification; and (2) when employing the urban education typology, it is imperative that researchers deeply contextualize the physical, temporal, historical, social, and racialized spaces that schools and school districts exist in.

In 2001, the Pennsylvania Department of Education contracted with Western Michigan University to evaluate Pennsylvania's charter schools and charter school initiative over two years. The study used site visits, work sample review, document review, focus groups, portfolios and surveys to gather data regarding the movement's effectiveness, progress, and impact. The report focuses on methods, descriptions of the reform, charter school startup challenges, finances, student and family characteristics, teacher and staff characteristics, working conditions, professional development, satisfaction levels, innovation, equity, accountability, student achievement, and alternative indicators of charter school quality. Overall, charter schools were making modest achievement gains against demographically and geographically similar schools, although the gains were not uniform. Charter school customers were generally satisfied with the curriculum and instruction, though less so with facilities and resources. There were some charter-host school differences in enrollment of low-income, minority, and special education students. Teachers were generally satisfied with their working conditions but left charter schools in high numbers. Pennsylvania's charter schools received significant technical assistance, making them aware of relevant rules and regulations. There was minimal diffusion of innovation from charter to noncharter schools. Includes 71 tables/figures. Appended are teacher/staff, student, and parent survey results as well as demographic information on charter school students and teachers. (Contains 57 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Current U.S. policy initiatives to improve the U.S. education system, including No Child Left Behind, test-based evaluation of teachers, and the promotion of competition are misguided because they either deny or set to the side a basic body of evidence documenting that students from disadvantaged households on average perform less well in school than those from more advantaged families. Because these policy initiatives do not directly address the educational challenges experienced by disadvantaged students, they have contributed little-and are not likely to contribute much in the future-to raising overall student achievement or to reducing achievement and educational attainment gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Moreover, such policies have the potential to do serious harm. Addressing the educational challenges faced by children from disadvantaged families will require a broader and bolder approach to education policy than the recent efforts to reform schools.

After being overlooked in major education debates and policy initiatives for decades, civic education has recently become the topic of highly polarized debates and legislative battles over what and how we should be teaching our young people about the nation’s history. How should racial injustice be discussed in schools? Are schools indoctrinating students? In a robust democracy, controversy about what students should learn is appropriate and desirable, but some of the rhetoric that has dominated the recent discussions violates the deliberative norms that schools should help students to develop. At a time when the public should be carefully deliberating how to educate students, civic education is instead being used instrumentally to win political contests. I present one approach to facing this challenge—the Educating for American Democracy project. This project is not the conclusive answer to the question, “What should we teach?” but rather an attempt to model deliberative values, and I show that it offers important lessons for people and institutions who are attempting to address matters of curricular content.

The process of preparing this successful school story has been one of the most personally impactful experiences thus far in my educational leadership journey. In my search for a focus school, I found the Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy (hereafter referred to as "Renzulli Academy"). Renzulli Academy was named a Category 1 School of Distinction in the State of Connecticut in 2024 for its high performance and high growth in math from the 2023-2024 school year. Renzulli Academy is the first Hartford Public School to achieve Category 1 distinction, earning a place in the top 10% of schools in the state (White, 2024). The more I learned about the school, the more I was drawn in by its community. It was a pleasure and an honor to learn from staff at Renzulli Academy, and I was truly inspired by their leadership, unity, and sense of purpose. It is my hope that this report not only reflects the values of Renzulli Academy, but also prompts the reader to consider how practices at Renzulli Academy may be applied to the improvement process within his or her own school community. Renzulli Academy is part of the Hartford Public School system in Hartford, Connecticut. In the 2024-2025 school year, Hartford Public Schools had 16,434 students enrolled with 5.9% White students, 57.4% Hispanic/Latino students, 28.5% Black students, 4.7% Asian students, 0.5% American Indian students, and 3% students of two or more races. 76.7% of Hartford Public School students were eligible for free or reduced price meals in the 2024-2025 school year as compared to the state average of 44.8%. 26.2% of students in the district were English Language Learners in the 2024-2025 school year as compared to the state average of 11.3%. Figure below shows district versus state comparisons of Next Generation Accountability Index, School Performance Index, and Smarter Balanced Growth data (Edsight, 2025a): Figure 1 Hartford Public Schools vs. Statewide Performance Data Professional Development Path How does our professional learning equip teachers for the cultural shifts required by this plan? How will we monitor whether the PD is changing practice, not just compliance? How are we intentionally building a school culture that reflects and respects the values, voices, and lived experiences of the community we serve?

In March 1991 I was approached by Judy Hucker, the Principal of Birkdale Primary School on Auckland’s North Shore to ask if I would run a studio project for my students to design a play environment for her school. The exterior environment was barren with few places to stimulate imagination or inspiration. I refused, but instead offered to run a studio class in which we would help the children to design their own environment. Over 10 weeks, twenty five undergraduate students worked intensively with the children to make that promise a reality. This is the story of that project.