Drawing on evidence and example legislation, this policy research brief identifies school-based policy options for Texas to prevent and mitigate toxic stress caused by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The term ACEs refers to the 10 common categories of adversity included in a landmark study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

Through the lens of the school board, this essay examines school governance dynamics as a southern, historically white public school district struggled to implement school desegregation. In 1976, the city of Waco simultaneously elected its school district's first trustees of Color, Dr. Emma Louise Harrison and Rev. Robert Lewis Gilbert. Harrison…

Identifying and maintaining talent is important in any organization, but in a low-performing school, it is perhaps "the" most important component to achieving turnaround. Given the importance of teachers and leaders for students and schools, districts and states are wise to hone their efforts related to identifying, attracting,…

Policy and funding influence equitable education for students who are gifted. The concept of equity is examined through variations in policy and in funding at the state, district, and local levels. Challenges and barriers to equity in policy and funding include policy structures, where policy provides guidance without accountability measures, or…

This article is a collective narration of our work in a prekindergarten and its curriculum, designed to employ student choice as a connection-making mechanism. We describe a series of "boundaries," social constructions, recognitions and physical barriers to illustrate the movement of the students within the curriculum, their negotiation…

The United States is becoming a more culturally and linguistically diverse nation. This is especially true when we look at the youngest generation of learners. This growing diversity increases the need to accurately identify young children as dual language learners (DLLs) prior to kindergarten. Ensuring educators have a strong understanding of…

In spite of high-stakes testing that challenges teachers to think about classroom decisions, the authors believe teachers can promote classroom practices that provide opportunities to develop the reading and writing identities of their students while also preparing students for required assessments. Using teacher writing as mentor text, showing…

Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, lifelong condition that affects a person's ability to process language, which in turn can make reading and writing more difficult. Between 10 and 20 percent of all people are dyslexic. Providing appropriate reading instruction and intervention for young children by second grade could reduce the percentage of…

We know that students cannot learn if they are not in school, and that students with economic challenges miss school more frequently than other students. What obstacles create this attendance gap, and how can school districts provide the supports to improve attendance for these students? The authors of this article, who work with the Texas…

The members of Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest's Texas English Learners Research Alliance requested this project because they were interested in learning more about the participation of current English learner students in gifted and talented (GT) programs in Texas, and how their participation compared with that of former English…

Thermal imaging was used 60+ years ago to enable the targeting of heat-seeking missiles and seeing opposing forces at night. Today thermograpy is employed for myriad uses, from turning on faucets, to tracking and attacking enemies from aerial spy drones, to identifying the scope of moisture infiltration in building envelopes. Thermography for…

As the 2012 presidential election approaches, controversy grows over recent statewide legislative initiatives that impose stricter identification requirements on voters. These new voter identification laws--especially those that require voters to produce a government-issued photo ID--are the subject of intense debates. During 2011, seven states…

The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative has spent 14 years working with young people with foster care experience, engaging them to help identify what they need to transition successfully to adulthood. Consistently, young people have emphasized that their foster care experiences are far from normal. What they need--but too often do not…

In partnership with Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Center for Minority Serving Institutions at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, Salzburg Global Seminar hosted an international strategic dialogue of 60 thought leaders, researchers, and practitioners from institutions serving marginalized populations to…

In this chapter, the author focuses on intersectionality as a heuristic means toward an open and affirming classroom and as a model grounded in a larger history of calls for anti-oppressive pedagogy. Three critical pivots set the background to this article. The first is Paolo Freire, who clearly connected social justice with pedagogy and contended…