As a reviewer of middle level schools, their programs, policies, curricula, mission statements, instructional behaviors, assessment processes, and student-oriented community the author offers observations that can promote better student equity. He suggests: (1) "Producing Equity Belief Statements." Mission, Equity, or Inclusion…

While collective teacher efficacy has potential to improve teacher practice and student learning, there's a risk this concept will be used to further burden teachers through assuming a positive, confident attitude can overcome all barriers to learning--even without good conditions for teaching in place. France argues that collective efficacy must…

Monica Higgins is the Kathleen McCartney Professor of Education Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where her research and teaching focus on leadership development and organizational change. Drawing on a background that combines organizational behavior, business, and education, she works with senior education leaders…

Dewey famously believed that we learn through experience, through which we build up habits. Education should be about developing good habits. Experience for Dewey, is not an individual possession but grows out of social interaction, which always takes place in a given culture. Dewey's views on culture are significant in relation to a current issue…

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…

Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, has nearly 20 years of experience in educational leadership, primarily in urban school districts. Her previous roles included superintendent in Austin, Texas, from 2009 to 2014 and administrator in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. She serves as a commissioner and…

In this commentary, author John Saltmarsh reflects on "Journal of Public Service and Outreach" article "Ensuring the quality of outreach: The critical role of evaluating individual and collective initiatives and performance," written by Ernest A. Lynton and reprinted in this 20th anniversary issue of "Journal of Higher…

The National Art Education Association (NAEA) believes there is a symbiotic relationship between a supported high-quality visual arts education program and a positive school culture and climate. The fundamental context for a school-based visual arts education program requires effective educators who are certified/licensed in visual art and…

Public higher education is in danger of failing to respond sufficiently to changing conditions that affect the public's need for services. A recognition of the apparent failure of higher education to keep pace with societal change and to meet the additional challenges of declining funding, increased accountability, and shifts in public attitudes…

In this commentary, author John Byrne reflects on his 1998 "Journal of Public Service & Outreach" article, "Outreach, Engagement, and the Changing Culture of the University" reprinted in this 20th anniversary issue of "Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement." Byrne's 1998 article was a call to modify…

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) believes school psychologists are ethically obligated to ensure all youth with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and/or gender expressions, are able to develop and express their personal identities in a school climate that is safe, accepting, and respectful of all persons and…

In this article Chancellor Susan Koch considers the value of the honors program at her institute, the University of Illinois at Springfield. She begins by reflecting on her own under graduate experience at her alma mater, Dakota State University and explains how her experience there helped her to create the honors program at the University of…

This report compares average rates of frequent teacher absence (more than 10 days) for teachers with and without union or union-like contracts in traditional public schools and charter schools. The study's rationale is that such absences substantively harm students and cost taxpayers billions of dollars. It finds that teachers contractually…

Essays within this forum grapple with the multilevel ways that anti-LGBT bullying manifests within educational spaces. The essays for this forum provide a clear articulation of the wicked problem of LGBT bullying while also offering clear pedagogical advice for how instructors can change themselves, their institutions, and society to be more…

In this interview, Eric Jensen, an internationally recognized speaker and writer on student poverty and brain-based learning, discusses how the educational mindsets and practical strategies from his latest two books, "Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Mindsets for Change" (2016) and "Poor Students, Richer Teaching: Mindsets for…