The Toxic Schoolhouse is a collection of articles on chemical hazards endangering students, teachers, and staff in the education system of the United States and Canada. Some of the articles were originally published in a special issue of New Solutions: A Journal of Occupational and Environmental Policy, but all have been updated and several new articles have been added. The book is organized in three sections. The first describes problems ranging from the failures of coordination, monitoring, and siting of school buildings to the hazards of exposure to toxic substances, including lead and PCBs. The second section captures the voices of activists seeking change and describes community and union organizing efforts to improve school conditions. The third section covers policy "solutions." The authors include academics, union staff and rank-and-file activists, parent organization leaders, and public health professionals.
Beyond the Schoolhouse introduces eight paradigm shifts that are urgently needed to challenge inequities in education and improve the conditions for historically marginalized school children. The book provides educators and scholars with actionable strategies to shift the paradigm from schools alone to engaged partnerships with families and communities. Too many educators enter the profession with an incompatible paradigm, one that asks educators to resolve the problems facing school children from behind the closed doors of the school. The book offers a new paradigm, one that opens the power of partnerships to improve the conditions for school children from within and beyond the walls of the schoolhouse. Drawing thoughtfully on leadership theory, current research, and evidence-based practice, the author engages practitioners and scholars in a spirited and candid conversation about why partnerships with families and communities are needed in this era of rapid cultural change and soaring inequalities. The book features scenarios from the field along with lessons learned on the pitfalls and possibilities embedded in the paradigm shifts. The scenarios reveal how the partners leveraged their power to disrupt historical patterns of racism, classism, and nativism. The book offers a compelling analysis of the power of school, family, and community partners to embrace dramatically different paradigms for schooling. With anecdotes and illustrations, the author invites readers to consider their role in engaging in meaningful partnerships that reflect the community’s best hopes for the education of their children. Her narratives offer a deeply rooted understanding of the possibilities and pitfalls of school, family, and community partnerships in a diversity of settings, including urban, rural, and tribal schools and systems in the U.S. and abroad. The chapters build hope and a realistic optimism that engaged partners can leverage their talents and resources and work together to bring best practices to scale for the benefit of children of diverse identities, cultures, and ethnicities. Chapters contain strategies and tools to tackle the growing inequalities which keep far too many children on the margins of schooling and furthest from justice and equity. Strategies include equity-focused protocols, structured questions for dialogue in virtual and face-to-face settings, and resources for extended reflection. The book may be useful for scholars in academic circles, principal and teacher preparation providers, novice and experienced educators and administrators, and the allies, school board members, and elected officials who are invested in enriching the education and well-being of school children and the families and communities they serve.
Dr Helen Woodley's critical action research in a growing field of education is an investigation into the effect of working on a toxic schools on teacher mental health and wellbeing. Ross Morrison McGill adds accessible conclusions to each chapter.
Answers the calls of grassroots communities pressing for integration and increased education funding with a complete rethinking of school discipline In the era of zero tolerance, we are flooded with stories about schools issuing draconian punishments for relatively innocent behavior. One student was suspended for chewing a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun. Another was expelled for cursing on social media from home. Suspension and expulsion rates have doubled over the past three decades as zero tolerance policies have become the normal response to a host of minor infractions that extend well beyond just drugs and weapons. Students from all demographic groups have suffered, but minority and special needs students have suffered the most. On average, middle and high schools suspend one out of four African American students at least once a year. The effects of these policies are devastating. Just one suspension in the ninth grade doubles the likelihood that a student will drop out. Fifty percent of students who drop out are subsequently unemployed. Eighty percent of prisoners are high school drop outs. The risks associated with suspension and expulsion are so high that, as a practical matter, they amount to educational death penalties, not behavioral correction tools. Most important, punitive discipline policies undermine the quality of education that innocent bystanders receive as well—the exact opposite of what schools intend. Derek Black, a former attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, weaves stories about individual students, lessons from social science, and the outcomes of courts cases to unearth a shockingly irrational system of punishment. While schools and legislatures have proven unable and unwilling to amend their failing policies, Ending Zero Tolerance argues for constitutional protections to check abuses in school discipline and lays out theories by which courts should re-engage to enforce students’ rights and support broader reforms.
Dealing with incompetent bureaucrats, a power-hungry parent, and a scheming superintendent aren’t the only hurdles facing second-year principal Steve Hepting. Fortunately, he has steadfast allies, including the academically-challenged school custodian, a feisty eco-activist teacher, and a counselor urging calm amidst the swirling brouhaha. A mysterious blueprint for a “Brave New World” of public education not only threatens Hepting’s school but the education system itself. The principal enlists the aid of a scandal-sniffing journalist as he and his colleagues grapple to uncover the truth. The comedic tale unfolds as the presence of an “Animal Hotel” on the deserted second floor unexpectedly complicates the implementation of the master plan and Hepting’s role in the entire affair.
Helen Woodley's critical important action research in a growing field of education is an investigation into the effect of working on a toxic schools on teacher mental health and wellbeing. Four teachers share their experiences of working in toxic schools across a variety of settings. And strategies for coping in such schools are shared including a wider look at how school culture can be developed to better support staff.
Sounding the Alarm in the Schoolhouse: Safety, Security, and Student Well-Being was written as a resource guide for educational and mental health professionals and policymakers, as well as families and communities seeking to develop programming to reduce school violence and promote safe, engaging, and effective schools. This book explores the growing crisis in school safety and security through the lens of the roles that mental health and student and community well-being play in creating environments that are resistant to violent and antisocial behavior. The book gives practical information and research on school, classroom or community applications, the latest trends and issues in the field, and best practices for promoting student health and well-being. It also covers violence prevention measures and protocols to follow in crisis intervention situations. Issues of culture, gender and society are specifically addressed.
As environmental concerns become more prevalent, it is important for todays youth to be exposed to green practices. The introduction of environmentally sound principles into educational systems and institutions helps establish a positive viewpoint on sustainability as well as promote green practices. Marketing the Green School: Form, Function, and the Future features the latest research surrounding the operational efficiency, financial and legal considerations, and effectiveness of environmentally friendly school systems, as well as the integration of environmental education curriculum. Investigating the impact a green environment has on student well-being and success, this book is an essential reference source for school superintendents, school business managers, contractors, architects, and civil engineers interested in the development and promotion of green initiatives in educational institutions.
Every teacher knows that a day in the classroom is always full of surprises, successes, failures, and inspirational moments. In the poignant memoir School House Diary, longtime educator shares anecdotesboth tragic and humorousthat detail his nearly thirty years as a social studies teacher, coach, and student advocate in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jerry Roberts began his career as a high school history teacher not as a green twenty-two-year-old recent college graduate, but as a four-year Army veteran and father of two young children. As he details the antics, humorous incidents, and human tragedy that often unfolded on a daily basis in his classroom, Roberts offers an eye-opening glimpse into the life of a teachera life that often includes switching roles from history teacher to surrogate parent to armchair psychologist. From the helicopter Mom who had difficulty letting her daughter grow up to the pregnant twelve-year-old student to the driven high school student who learned that leadership requires building trust in others, Roberts shines a fascinating light into the challenging world of an educator. School House Diary is a compelling collection of essays that prove that teachers truly make a difference every day in the lives of their students.
