Examining the School-to-Prison Pipeline through Juvenile Public Policy Initiatives and Prison Expenditures

The 21st century has brought a stark reality to American society: young people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the opportunities provided to them through school systems that perpetuate racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps. Generations that were once lauded as future leaders are now completely unconvinced that they will ever have opportunities to assume leadership, and droves are failing to complete compulsory courses of education as a result. Many are turning to lives of crime out of necessity and frustration over the stark realities they face as children of color in an increasingly divided nation. To understand the current issues impacting young people and creating what has become known as the school-to-prison pipeline, an in-depth examination of the social, economic, and educational factors creating increased numbers of incarcerated youth must be undertaken and connections between systemic dysfunction and racial disparities investigated.

Silence is Not an Option: Oral History of Race in Youth Development Through the Words of Esteemed Black Scholars

The study of race has been silenced in many areas of science including youth development research. We present this commentary in response to an invitation to address the impact of racism on the field of youth development for the Journal of Youth Development. Through oral history narratives, the paper synthesizes an antiracist agenda from the perspectives of 6 Black scholars: Tabbye Chavous, Michael Cunningham, Davido Dupree, Leoandra Onnie Rogers, Stephanie Rowley, and Robert Sellers. The narratives depict each scholar’s perspective on race research that informs youth-serving programs and the study of race in research of children and adolescents, particularly Black children. We selected scholars based on their commitment to supporting research that helps children of color thrive, and who have in-depth knowledge about racist ideologies and practices that have persisted since the inception of the science of youth development. Each scholar offered thoughtful critiques regarding racially biased measures and methodologies, the problematic use of deficit-oriented language, and the challenges that scholars of color encounter with advancing in the field. While the scholars expressed a consensus that the field has struggled to name racism in research and practice, they share hope in the complexity of future race research and practice that centers culture and context in youth development studies and programs.

Toward policies that promote access and equity in early education: A conversation with Shantel Meek

Shantel Meek of the Children’s Equity Project talks with Kappan about the challenges facing early childhood education. These include the splintered nature of the system, a lack of funding, and the low status and pay afforded to the early childhood workforce. Although early care programs, such as Head Start, have helped children in poverty, disparities in access and program quality in early childcare persist for young children of color, children with disabilities, and young dual-language learners.

Equity-Focused, Trauma-Informed Policy Can Mitigate COVID-19’s Risks to Children’s Behavioral Health

Both vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and childhood trauma have deep roots in health inequities. Children of color especially risk severe COVID-19 illness, with long-term effects that amplify existing health disparities, including trauma exposure. Similarly, children of color report more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) than non-Hispanic White children. ACEs and other potentially traumatic events are associated with lifelong physical and psychological health problems. Policy must prioritize health equity (the absence of differences in health care access, quality, and outcomes based on ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status). A trauma-informed approach emphasizes recovery and resilience. Principles of health equity can join with trauma-informed policy and practice for families and communities to help mitigate the effects of childhood trauma during the pandemic and beyond.

Crossing District Lines: The Impact of Urban–Suburban Desegregation Programs on Educational Attainments

Interdistrict desegregation programs, which provide opportunities for urban children of color to attend suburban schools, are a potential means of addressing persistent racial inequalities in educational opportunities and outcomes. These voluntary programs offer a test of whether nonresident students can leverage the resources and social capital available at high-performing suburban schools to improve their educational outcomes. In the first impact study of Boston’s long-running program, I find large differences in the adjusted high-school graduation and college enrollment rates of applicants referred to a suburban district, compared with observably similar applicants who were not referred. The college effect is due to enrollment in 4-year institutions and does not vary by gender. Estimates are robust to adjustments for remaining omitted variables bias.

Supporting literacies for children of color: A strength-based approach to pre-school literacy by (Daniel R )

Supporting Literacies for Children of Color is half theoretic examination, half guidebook; the text revolves around the research that pre-school students of Color, historically underestimated, have cultural and linguistic strengths that should be recognized and supported in learning spaces. Meier establishes a strengths-based approach to literacy—stressing the importance of creating a developmentally engaging curriculum that includes books, oral storytelling, personal journals, drawings, and writings. A strong benefit of Meier’s text is that by using his own experiences, those of colleagues, and of families of Color, he connects theories to real life in a way that makes them accessible enough that educators and librarians of all levels will find value in adding it to their collection of professional development books.