Professional development (PD) for teachers is a ubiquitous feature of the American educational landscape. Yet we know little about how districts navigate the variation in teacher learning needs when designing and implementing district-wide PD programs. In this paper, we describe how the District of Columbia Public Schools implemented an ambitious…

We examine how the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd influenced how a mid-sized urban school district in the northeastern U.S. pursued organizational improvement for educational equity. We frame the global pandemic and the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd as organizational shocks that disrupted school and…

The aviation industry expects over two million new personnel in the next twenty years to ensure safe commercial travel and support long-term growth. However, the industry needs more diversity. This study gathered information from administrators and educators in a large, diverse urban school district to address this issue through questionnaires and…

It has been 50 years since magnet schools were first used to address segregation in public schools. The context of magnet schools has changed dramatically during this time, raising questions about the role of magnet schools in a modern context. This study utilized data from a large urban district with more than 100 magnet schools to assess…

The urban education typology put forth by Milner (Urban Educ 47(3):556-561, 2012) offered a conceptual demarcation of three different, yet interconnected types of urban school districts (i.e., urban intensive, urban emergent, and urban characteristic). Nearly one decade after Milner's seminal urban education typology, few empirical or conceptual…

This study analyzed data from a survey distributed to teachers in an urban school district in New Jersey. The survey asked teachers about their past and current perceptions of, and practices with, the use of classroom technology and in particular one-to-one devices. Findings reveal teachers generally perceive technology as positive in teaching and…

Globally, schools continue to espouse commitments to equity and racial justice, yet racialized opportunity gaps continue to exist in schools, especially schools located in urban communities. In this research, we offer an empirically based explanation for this phenomenon by demonstrating how white district leaders resist enacting meaningful…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to inform local practices in the state of Oklahoma regarding the equitable allocation of resources within school districts by examining the relationship between student per-pupil expenditures at high schools located in an urban district and student outcomes. Significant efforts, both legal and academic,…

Instructional coaching programs are designed to improve teacher effectiveness to ultimately improve student performance. The role of the instructional coach varies among schools and is dependent on building leadership or the most recent trends of a school district. Inconsistency in the roles and responsibilities of instructional coaches can impede…

Currently, there is a national level debate on security-based school safety policies and practices, particularly in relation to the presence of police in schools. Decisions about school safety are discussed at the district level by administrators and board of education members who may not be aware of the importance of utilizing local data to…

This article presents a preliminary study of an urban school district, and its use of a scripted middle-school language arts and literacy curriculum. The majority of students served by this district are African American. By interviewing a small sample of four teachers and one literacy coach, gathering preliminary data, and observing students…

After decades of market-based education reforms, the landscape of urban school districts across the country have been transformed. Yet, this is neither a sign of the effectiveness of such reforms nor a widespread consensus over the contents and form of urban schooling. Education reform remains a wicked problem, particularly along racial lines,…

Children are at high risk of exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) during early childhood. This developmental period, marked by rapid growth in fundamental skills, may render children particularly vulnerable to adverse developmental effects. Embedding universal trauma-informed supports within early childhood education (ECE) settings has…

Despite multiple creative approaches to integrating Minnesota's segregated urban public schools, students of color in these schools remain the majority. The state's progressive, anti-racist sentiment toward education has not evolved into action on the part of White families, which leaves under-resourced urban districts struggling beneath a mere…

The teacher shortage currently plaguing the United States is exacerbated in the urban context. One particular model being adopted in urban school districts to address the teacher shortage and issues of educational equity is the urban teacher residency (UTR) model. The UTR model employs a collaboration between institutions of higher education…