In "Crisis as Catalyst," Patricia M. Virella uncovers opportunities for school leaders to act as agents of equity and inclusivity during crisis situations. Virella interviewed dozens of school principals across the United States and Puerto Rico, and in this book she shares the key lessons from their experiences with crisis events of all…

This article reimagines the social justice educational leadership field, highlighting the leadership of youth, parents, and community. We examine widely cited social justice educational leadership publications, in addition to critical research on youth voice, parent engagement, and community organizing. Our analysis reveals that the field often…

Policy, systems, and environmental change are now widely accepted as critical to sustaining improvements in community health. Evidence suggests that such systems-level change is most effective when driven by community-based partnerships. Yet, after more than three decades of building community-based partnership work, health inequities have…

For far too long has community been left out of major discussions surrounding educational reform in the state of New Mexico. Judge Sarah Singleton's ruling in "Martínez/Yazzie v. State of New Mexico" (2018) opens up an opportunity for various stakeholders to offer alternative models in addressing the need to provide a 'sufficient…

Researchers have noted that effective school leadership is essential to ensuring positive student and school outcomes. To achieve these outcomes, university preparation programs must adequately train and develop aspiring school leaders with the knowledge, skills, and capacity needed to be effective leaders. This qualitative case study examines a…

Using a participant-observer perspective, this comparative case study sought to identify similarities between business and education to contribute to charter school training, leadership development, and school reform. This inquiry is a qualitative comparative case study using a participant observer perspective presented in a scholarly personal…

Sara McAlister, in her article "Why Community Engagement Matters in School Turnaround," in this issue (p35-42) of "Voices in Urban Education," lays out the strong research base showing that family and community participation is a crucial resource not only for individual student achievement, but also for catalyzing and…

This unit has three major purposes: to identify and examine criteria of relevance, to review evidence on the schools' failure to satisfy these criteria, and to survey approaches to making the schools more relevant in terms of these criteria. The unit objectives are to define relevance as related to school programs; list major criteria for judging…

In northern Quebec, "Satuigiarniq" is a project that gives Inuit community members a voice in reclaiming responsibility for their children's education. This paper explains how the project developed and improved over time, focusing on training of local leaders, development of community groups, and presentations to the Education Council.…

In 1995, the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) was awarded a 5-year grant to improve performance in mathematics and science in a 66-county area in central Appalachia through high-quality, standards-based teaching supported by aligned, coherent local and regional systems. The ARSI model has three levels. The first level entails local…

Even the best schools must undertake a systematic and continuous appraisal of their current condition and future directions if they are to remain valuable and viable contributors to their community's quality of life. It is clear that schools cannot undertake that appraisal unless it is done in full partnership with the communities in which they…

A true leader is not grounded in control, but believes in shared decision making and power. Today's principals should develop leadership skills in others and let them help lead school reform. A Carrollton, Texas high school formed a leadership team comprising staff, students, parents, and the community. (MLH)

This paper examines school reform via community organizing in New York City's lowest performing public school districts. It summarizes findings from a national study on community organizing for school reform, profiling 10 community organizing groups. In 2000, researchers conducted surveys of and interviews with all NYC groups currently engaged in…

From 1990 to 2000, a qualitative study of the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) was conducted in four small rural school districts in Kentucky. KERA reflects key components of what would later be termed "systemic reform": a unifying set of goals that all students must attain, a coherent system of instructional…

The National Center for Effective Schools worked to translate knowledge gained from research on effective schools, educational change, and organization development into a professional development program that builds the capacity of teachers, administrators, parents, and community members who are committed to making schools more effective. The…