Nationally known young adult author Chris Crutcher shares his thoughts on how teachers can help students who are dealing with trauma in their lives.

When exploring the achievement of students with disabilities (SWDs) in today's educational context of standards-based reform, scholars typically debate the merits and disadvantages of including SWDs in general education classrooms. Yet these debates in the fields of special education, policy implementation, and standards-based reform are largely…

The purpose of this position paper is to emphasize the importance that policies should include specific protections for LGBTQ students, incorporate a top-down approach that uses clear and consistent language and mandates, and involves multiple types of professional development to support the needs of educators in implementing and enforcing them.…

Derreck Kayongo is an entrepreneur and the former CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. He founded the Global Soap Project (now acquired by Clean the World), a humanitarian aid organization for collecting discarded and unused soap from thousands of hotels worldwide, reprocessing it, then distributing it to in-need populations…

The purpose of this position paper is to emphasize the importance that the curriculum and climate are structured in ways that are conducive for a wide variety of learners. This not only means that the content itself is differentiated based on different learning styles and preferences, but also that students can see themselves represented in what…

Dr. Jacobson's analysis of "hard to serve" is well founded, especially from an academic and theoretical perspective, yet the author is left wanting. Is the solution to merely change the language, the terminology of the legislation, or the terminology used by policy makers as well as practitioners? Are these adults hard to serve or ill…

Karen Gross is an author, educator and advisor on diverse issues along the educational pipeline. Her current research focuses on student success and the impact of trauma on learning, psychosocial development and health. Sadly, the issues on which she focuses have taken center stage with the coronavirus pandemic and the literally thousands of…

Art/fine art teachers confront the dilemma of whether to include--in plays, concerts, and so on--students whose behavior is disruptive, off-task, or in other ways drags down otherwise good arts performances. Iamarino argues that because the arts are especially helpful to at-risk kids (who are often the very ones with problem behavior), teachers…

The authors of this rejoinder write that they understand that there are mixed views on the work they do, the products they publish, and the roles they play in the professions they serve. They also believe that in any healthy professional context, debate and disagreement enhance their work. The authors state that most of the time, their work is…

During a sabbatical semester in Fall 2018, "Community Literacy Journal (CLJ)" co-editor Paul Feigenbaum volunteered as a "Scholar-in-Residence" at Youth Enrichment Services (YES), a nonprofit established in 1994 that is based in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Guided by its mission "to create hope out of…

At California State University Northridge (CSUN), Stevie Ruiz's students reflect the multiracial communities of Los Angeles County. The students are children of immigrants, working class, first-generation college students, and queer people of color. Students share a wealth of knowledge that is shaped by race, gender, sexual, and class inequality…

Learning how leaders advance equity and justice can inspire, give mental models, and help create road maps. Eight years ago, Nancy Gerzon and the author researched professional learning in high-poverty schools that were narrowing the achievement gap for every demographic, which resulted in the book "Growing Into Equity" (Corwin, 2013).…

In this interview, I speak with Gail Shuck about her continued commitment to seize upon what she describes as "kairotic moments" to build a network of support for refugee students, an underserved language-minoritized student population, at Boise State University. Gail describes how she has inhabited her administrative position to work…

This commentary summarizes emerging research into fractions instruction for students who are at risk for failure. Each of the three articles emphasizes a measure conception of fractions. Teaching fractions as measurement helps students learn the magnitude of rational numbers. However, measurement is only part of the way that students should…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a complex initiative which requires the ongoing support and communication of multiple stakeholders (e.g., teachers, administrators, support staff). The purpose of this paper is to examine RTI and direct application of the framework with public school practitioners. The paper is separated into several sections.…