Unequal access to advanced learning opportunities is among the most complex and controversial issues in American K-12 schools. Interventions that address policy, programming, and instruction can provide opportunities for students with advanced learning needs in school systems that prioritize minimum grade-level standards. Excellence gaps are…

Both the United States and the United Nations have identified, examined, and put out a call to action to address the educational inequities that have disproportionately and negatively affected racially minoritized students, as well as those from a lower socioeconomic background, and poorer countries. Data from the Nations Report Card and the…

The first five years of the Scottish Attainment Challenge saw much progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap but at a limited pace. The pandemic disrupted the learning of our children and young people and had a disproportionate impact on children affected by poverty. The refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge programme, backed by a…

Many talented students in under-resourced schools do not reach their full potential. Research shows that by sixth grade, children born into poverty have likely spent 6,000 fewer hours learning than their middle-class counterparts. Higher Achievement, an intensive summer and after-school program, aims to close that learning gap. It offers…

"Challenges Facing Suburban Schools: Promising Responses to Changing Student Populations" provides a demographic, political, economic and sociological overview of the changing nature of suburban schools. It describes the nature of student diversity in the changing suburbs and issues with student achievement. Administrative…

In December 2014, then Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan announced that $226 million had been awarded to 18 states under the Preschool Development Grants (PDG) program. Duncan said that expanding access to high quality preschool programs was critically important, and that the states receiving funding would serve as a model for others. The goal…

This article examines how a dual language program can be developed within the framework of social justice leadership. The authors analyzed principal, teacher, and parent interview transcripts as well as field notes and key documents to understand the role of school leadership in creating inclusive dual language programs to close the Latina/o-White…

The Three article dissertation is a program review of the Counseling 50 college preparedness program at Fullerton College, Fullerton California. Article I is a comprehensive review of literature on educational legislation during the 1960s that led to the development of educational programs and opportunities for students from underrepresented…

Demographics for all school districts in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York were disseminated and analyzed in order to better understand where the highest percentage of single-parent households were located, how school districts support parents and children of single-parent households and how they could better assist them. As an outcome of this…

Decades of research evidence indicate that high-quality early education can positively affect the learning trajectories of disadvantaged young children. However, despite significant investments to improve what happens in the classroom, publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs continue to display instructional quality that is too weak to prepare…

This document is from a featured presentation at the 2018 annual conference of the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT). The public schools are a fundamental element of our democratic society, and they have been the pathway to opportunity and a better life for generations of Americans. But at present, the American public school system is…

The espoused foundation of U.S. society, "E pluribus unum" (out of many, one), is based on the belief that this nation should simultaneously support pluralism and promote unity. The road to making this ideal a reality, however, has not always been smooth. The ever-widening achievement gap highlights how this discordance plays out in our…

Leading Charlotte foundations formed a funding collaborative to support a five-year district turnaround initiative to dramatically improve educational outcomes for students in the West Charlotte High School corridor, one of the city's lowest-performing feeder zones. The "Project L.I.F.T." initiative involves four areas of education…

Over the last few decades, college admission rates for Latinos have increased. However, the achievement gap between Latino students and other ethnic groups remains wide. Peer mentorship programs have shared in some degree of success in promoting the academic success of diverse and underrepresented student populations. Despite the growing…

Grow Your Own (GYO) educator programs are a potential strategy for districts and universities to employ to help recruit and retain teachers of color. When designed within an asset-based framework, they emphasize equitable approaches and critical perspectives that combine the powerful roles of "homegrown" teachers, culturally-relevant…