We used a situated approach to examine the aftermath of citations for racial disparities in special education and discipline. The study was conducted in one suburban school district and examined staff's interpretations and responses to multiple disproportionality citations. We found that historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts mediated…

We study how a suburban U.S. district in the early stages of demographic change developed systems of support for teachers of English learners (ELs). Using district- and school-level social network and interview data, we examine elementary teachers' EL-related professional learning opportunities, and how district and school organizational contexts…

Large disparities in educational quality exist between cities and surrounding suburban school districts and are increasing between suburban districts--a trend that emerged over the past several decades and shows signs of growing. Using in-depth interviews, this study examines how children are sorted into different school districts across a…

In this qualitative case study, we explore the political impulses behind suburban secession from the 2013 Memphis-Shelby County merger, the largest school district consolidation in recent history. Decades removed from the Civil Rights Movement, during a period of stark inequality, colorblind law and policymaking, and a diminished understanding of…

In this study, I employ geospatial techniques to assess the impact of school attendance zone "gerrymandering" on the racial/ethnic segregation of schools, using a large national sample of 15,290 attendance zones in 663 districts. I estimate the effect of gerrymandering on school diversity and school district segregation by comparing the…

I examine several potential explanations for recent evidence showing a lack of improvement in the academic achievement of children participating in several poverty reduction residential mobility programs. Detailed interviews and field notes about the relocation and school experiences of 80 children in the Gautreaux II residential mobility program…

This experimental study examined the effect of a differentiated, enriched reading program on students' oral reading fluency and comprehension using the schoolwide enrichment model-reading (SEM-R). Treatment and control conditions were randomly assigned to 63 teachers and 1,192 second through fifth grade students across five elementary schools.…

In this analysis, the authors explore the relationship between the social context of high schools and school-to-school variation in tracking policies. The authors consider three explanations for the implementation of highly elaborated tracking systems: opportunity hoarding, status competition, and a technical-functional explanation. Building on…

This study uses national data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study to model educational inequality as a feedback process among course placement, student engagement, and academic achievement, separately for students in schools with high and low percentages of African American students. Results find strong effects of placement,…

Studied Comer's School Development Program (James P. Comer) in 23 middle schools in Prince George's County, Maryland. The study, involving repeated measurement with more than 12,000 students, shows that Comer schools implemented some of the program's central elements better than control schools did, but not all, or even most, of them. (SLD)

Comments on a study of Comer's School Development Model, indicating that the study, as conducted, was not a study of the model but a limited study of the effects of one application of the model's process. In addition, the evaluation was carried out over only 2 years for each group, when experience shows that at least 3 years are necessary to show…

Describes research, supported by a U.S. Office of Education grant, and conducted in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, suburban school districts. (DS)

Differences in self-image and selected educational variables for Black, Jewish, white, and non-Jewish-white youths in an integrated, inner-suburban high school were determined. Blacks tended to be lower on common educational measures but higher in self-image than the other groups. (AG)

Using ethnographic techniques and formal interviews with 12 students, examined the racial messages and lessons students got from parents and teachers in one suburban elementary school community. Explicit color-blind "race talk" masked a reality of racialized practices and color-conscious understandings. Discusses this apparent paradox in the…

This longitudinal study examined the effects of providing an accelerated mathematics curriculum in heterogeneously grouped middle school classes in a diverse suburban school district. A quasi-experimental cohort design was used to evaluate subsequent completion of advanced high school math courses as well as academic achievement. Results showed…