In response to a rapidly changing educational system and public discourse pushing for school choice and accountability, the City of Chicago announced sweeping changes to its educational system. Renaissance 2010 called for a restructuring of schools and the creation of a new school, effectively dismantling the longstanding traditions which position…

In "Subtle Webs," Jose Eos Trinidad reveals how organizations outside schools have created an invisible infrastructure not only to affect local school districts but also to shape US education. He illustrates this by providing a behind-the-scenes look at how local organizations in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City have transformed…

K-12-unit school structures are unique in grade band structure and in community involvement. Often found in rural settings, K-12-unit schools are steeped in tradition and community. They are typically smaller schools with under 1500 students enrolled. K-unit-schools exhibit characteristics of an open system wherein they are impacted by both those…

The author's previous articles for "FORUM," some co-authored with Dr. Andrew Allen, propose a radical restructuring of English schooling to enable more effective engagement with the community and a reassessment of the purposes of schooling. What follow here are a few suggestions that individual schools and academy trusts might take up to…

The Family Stabilization Initiative (FSI) Sustainability Toolkit was developed by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago in partnership with Lutheran Services in America. Chapin Hall designed and implemented a multifaceted approach to gain comprehensive understanding of the FSI and its core sustainability components. The Sustainability Toolkit…

In educational spaces, it is no longer aspirational but imperative that the community--with its richness and diversity--joins educators as key instructional partners to liberate the creativity, uniqueness, and potential of all students. As educators, we can miss the value of this collaboration. This brief defines critical perspectives, why…

School climate surveys are frequently used to collect information about student experiences in school. Less is known about how educators use survey data after survey administration. This paper explores one school district's critical use of evidence to promote equitable change. We conducted eight semi-structured interviews with district and school…

Fifty years after the birth of hip-hop, Jonathan E. Collins considers how hip-hop can transform U.S. education. Many schools have barred hip-hop and disciplined students who use it. But these restrictions have been built on flimsy premises that ignore the beauty and complexity of the art form. Embracing and incorporating hip-hop can improve…

The reduction in local control and oversight of schooling represented by the growth of Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) in England raises critical issues for public policy. These include the articulation and exercise of power in the governance of MATs, the future of democratic governance of local services and accountability. Applying Foucault's…

Schools used to be the center of a community, serving as a hub for empowering students, staff, and community members. As our public school and political landscapes are constantly changing, this qualitative, phenomenological study researches school stakeholders in the midst of turnaround efforts, exploring the role of inclusive engagement on…

The multifaceted influences of coloniality in higher education continue to be explored to reshape and transform spaces that can either reproduce structures of coloniality or bring about decoloniality. The University of Puerto Rico was founded in 1903 within 5 years of the end of the Spanish-American War, as a product of the law Morrill-Hatch. The…

This article discusses the conceptual bridges between the leadership learning framework; specifically, its emphasis on metacognition and social justice advocacy, and explores how leadership education might be revamped. The focus of the article is practicing socially shared metacognition using the American Counseling Association's (ACA) advocacy…

In this third paper in a series of four, we explore some ways of doing education differently. An education that moves beyond the persistent failures and irredeemable injustices of modern mass schooling episteme. The episteme for education we adumbrate -- an episteme of life continuance -- begins with a recognition of interdependency and the value…

This study examines the potential of community schools to revolutionize the educational landscape by creating a more impactful and locally tailored ecosystem. Through Action Research methodology, the research explores how deep community engagement can reshape educational experiences, focusing on the Flexible Pathways Initiative that empowers…

Background: Across families from all backgrounds, and for all students, when parents and the broader community engage in sustained systematic program improvements, schools and districts are more likely to focus on and maintain improvements. As a result, federal and state lawmakers have implemented engagement mandates. The ways in which these…