Designing Schools as Learning Centers

There are several variables that need to be considered when rethinking education delivery for the 21st century. Designing schools as learning centers is more than just about restructuring the physical space of schools. Effective education leadership and administration must successfully align several often-competing goals. These goals include guiding a human-centered organization, consisting primarily of young, evolving learners while continually managing knowledge and information delivery and balancing the needs of students and teachers with the education policy requirements set by federal and state legislation and subsequently interpreted by school districts. This chapter explores the ‘rethinking education delivery' theme through several topics such as learner's comfort levels, teacher- training and professional development, and school district leadership. A case study looks at a six-year research project focused on the effect of district and school leadership styles on teaching and learning.

4480 Full STEM Ahead: An Innovative Approach to Translate Science into the School-community

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To provide a translation of health sciences and research to a low-income population and elevate the role of science in personal health and career pathways through the implementation of a STEM-focused, researcher-led, school-community event. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Through a strong school district partnership, families from two urban, low-income, high-minority middle schools were invited to attend an academic-community event entitled, Full STEM Ahead in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Thirty-five Penn State and community partners engaged participants in discovery-focused learning through activity stations. Topic areas included: 3D printing in medicine, herd immunity, HPV cancer prevention, lung health, and germ prevention. Evaluation data from participants and organizational partners was collected to assess process outcomes and qualitative feedback. This event was part of a randomized controlled trial to improve attitudes toward adolescent vaccination. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Seventy-four parents and students participated in the two-hour event. Evaluation data indicated that 100% of participants who completed the evaluation rated the event as “good” or “excellent” and agreed that they “learned something new.” Specific qualitative feedback indicated that participants enjoyed the STEM information and various learning activities offered. School district leadership hopes to continue the partnership to host the event in future years and expand to other schools, offering an opportunity for academic-community collaboration. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This event was an innovative approach to connect low-income communities with science and potentially effective in engaging participants in learning. Similar opportunities should be explored to bridge the gap between research and community engagement, especially to increase research awareness.

Reforming School Discipline: Responses by School District Leadership to Revised State Guidelines for Student Codes of Conduct

Purpose: Over the past decade, increasing attention to the negative impacts of exclusionary discipline and disparities therein has led many state educational leaders to enact school discipline reforms. This study examined the response by school district leadership to a state’s revision of guidelines for student codes of conduct. Data: This study leveraged longitudinal data on school district codes of conduct from the 2013–2014 to 2015–2016 school years across the state of Maryland. Codes of conduct were coded in an iterative fashion according to a common set of infraction–response combinations. Research Design: Using a pre–post analytic design, this study examined changes in districts’ codified infractions, responses to infractions, and the overall tier of response. Furthermore, the study compared alignment between state guidelines and district codes of conduct while exploring variation in codified discipline across districts. Findings: Findings suggest that leaders in districts increased the number of response options available for most types of infractions, with the largest increases occurring for more serious infractions. While these increases tended to be driven by increases in the codification of less exclusionary responses, there were nevertheless sizeable increases in the availability of in-school suspension and removal/intervention. In almost all cases, school districts reported distributions of response options that were at a higher tier level than that recommended by the state. Conclusions: Findings are discussed in the context of current efforts to reform school discipline and the implications of such reform for implementation by district and school leadership.

Changing Teaching Practices in Rural Schools

This article describes the approach of a five-year initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, to improve the teaching of mathematics and science in 10 rural school districts of Missouri. Traditional challenges of improving the professional practice of teachers are addressed through a regional partnership. External project evaluation results reveal specific teacher challenges, the change strategy of the Ozark Rural Systemic Initiative (ORSI), and what teachers value most. Continuous, regional content-specific professional development; follow-up technical assistance to schools; administrative walk-throughs; assistance of lead teachers; and external evaluation reinforce that what counts most are effective teaching practices in classrooms with students. School district leadership and regional partners will be the key to continued success and long-term sustainability of the evolving learning communities and new teaching practices in schools.

Beacon Charter School Needs a School: A Case of Capital Outlay of Charters in a Public District

The case study presented below is a representation of a real-world, ongoing situation involving a public school district’s capital outlay for charter schools within its boundaries. One particular charter, Beacon Charter School, was promised a permanent building by the public school district that also acts as its authorizer. However, recent events have created a statewide revenue failure which has, in return, caused a dramatic decrease in the school district’s available funds. The school district leadership must decide whether they can still provide school facilities to Beacon Charter School. To complicate matters, the political climate surrounding the district’s 12 charter schools has become increasingly contentious. This case study provides ample material for discussion as well as suggests guiding questions and activities.

Social Red Bull: Exploring Energy Relationships in a School District Leadership Team

In this article, Alan J. Daly, Yi-Hwa Liou, and Chris Brown explore the idea of positive affective arousal through “energy exchange relationships” within a district leadership team. Education leaders have long been expected to be not only effective leaders but also motivators who can move change efforts forward. Although there has been attention paid to the role of effective leaders, much less work has contributed to the affective relations among education leaders. “Energizers” in social systems have been associated with positive individual and organizational outcomes but are rarely studied in education. Drawing on theories of social networks and using multilevel network modeling, the authors find evidence to suggest that job satisfaction and innovative climate help explain the likelihood of sending and receiving energy relationship nominations. Further, leader efficacy and similarity in work level and gender help explain the likelihood of forming energy relationships.